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THE ENLIGHTENMENT 
OF OLIVIA 




BY 

L. B. WALFORD 

AUTHOR OF “MR. SMITH," “THE BABY’S GRANDMOTHER," ETC. 


LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 

91 AND 93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 
LONDON, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA 


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CONTENTS 


CHAPTER page 

I. The Garden Lady i 

II. The Authoress i8 

III. The Hostess . . 36 

IV. A New Departure 64 

V. “Leaning Forward with His Nose on Her Lap I” . 85 

VI. The Tenant of Pump Cottage 104 

VII. “ He Does Fag You Rather ” 124 

VIII. The Telegram on the Hall-table . . . .145 

IX. An Evening in the Bay Window 170 

X. “ America is a Long Way Off ” 199 

XI. Colonel Thatcher’s Views on Hero-worship . . 225 

XII. Olivia Cannot Keep Away from the Thatchers . 258 

XIII. The Spark to the Gunpowder 283 

XIV. One November Afternoon 315 

XV. Conclusion 34^ 


V 



PUBLISHERS’ NOTE. 


This story originally appeared in the Weekly 
Edition of The Times, and is now issued in 
book form by arrangement with the Proprietors 
of that Journal. 


vii 


















CHAPTER I. 


THE GARDEN LADY. 

“ I HAVE had the most delightful day,” cried Olivia, 
looking up the steps. She was at the bottom and her 
husband was at the top, and the steps ran down into 
the shrubbery from a side door of the house. Before 
mounting, Olivia paused, and continued : Quite a per- 
fect day, Willie. A day to remember. I have enjoyed 
every hour and every minute of it.” 

‘‘ That’s right.” Willie, a broad man in a grey suit, 
with a roll of papers in his hand, smiled kindly and re- 
sponded heartily from his superior altitude. What 
have you been about ? ” continued he, descending, and 
placing a hand beneath his wife’s elbow to propel her 
gently upwards. She was a slender creature, and de- 
spite the animation of her accents had an air which to 
his eyes invariably appeared to need support. “ What 
have you been doing, eh ? ” 

Oh, doing? ” Olivia laughed, and leaned upon the 
strong hand contentedly. “ Oh, you Willie, that is so 
like you, and like everybody. Everybody thinks one 
must be ‘ Doing ’ something to be happy, whereas all 
one really wants — at least, all I ever really want, is just 
to he — ‘ Blest day, it was a luxury to be,’ — now, you 
wouldn’t understand that, would you, you big, bustling 
Willie ? Oh, my dear man, how you do smell of smoke,” 
— suddenly jerking aside from his kiss — “ Poof-poof” — 


2 


THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


and she caught at a bunch of moss-rosebuds swinging 
near, and buried her nose in them. ‘‘ You needn’t have 
smoked just before you came to meet me, Willie ; ” and 
the soft eyes were filled with reproach. 

“ Ton my word, I needn’t,” quoth the big man, good- 
humouredly. 

Olivia resigned herself. The world was full of 
monsters who would smoke, and would do all sorts of 
horrid things which to her were incomprehensible ; and 
Willie, of course, was like the rest ; but he was a good 
Willie in the main, and she bore with him. 

He now pulled forward a low wicker chair, into 
which she sank with her own peculiar, graceful, undu- 
lating motion, and as he slipped a pillow beneath her 
head, she murmured, Thank you, Willie,” in the 
musical tones that were everywhere remarked upon as 
Olivia’s beautiful voice. 

‘‘And so you have had a jolly day?” He stood 
looking down upon her, thinking how fair and pretty 
and cool she looked, and how well the pale blue ribbon 
at her throat became her. “ I must own it is a lot 
nicer here than in town. It was beastly hot there, and 
the trains were worse still.” 

“ I know ; I pitied you,” said Olivia, easily. “ Noth- 
ing would have induced me to waste a divine day like 
this rushing about in trains and cabs. Oh, Willie, it 
was simply heavenly in the woods ; I have been in the 
woods or the garden ever since you left ; that is, of 
course, I came in for luncheon, but Thomas brought 
out my tea, and everything was so still and sweet ” — 
she sighed with satisfaction and shut her eyes. 

“And you didn’t find the time long, little wife? I 
was half afraid you might be dull and lonesome, as I 
left so much earlier than usual.” 

“ Now, Willie,” she started up, roused on the in- 


THE GARDEN LADY 


3 


stant. “ Now, how can you ? You know that I am 
never dull, and don’t know what it is to be lonesome. 
And a whole dear, delightful day out of doors among 
the flowers and birds is just what I love. But you would 
never understand that, Willie,” — and she shook her 
head at him ere she laid it again upon the pillow. 

Willie chuckled. “ Lucky for me I shouldn’t. If I 
were in one part of the wood and you in the other.” 

“ Oh, Willie, how funny ! ” Suddenly Olivia laughed 
outright ; a merry, genuine laugh. “ And we met in 
the middle, and fled from each other ! But then, you 
know, you would never do that ; you would never be 
able to keep away from me,” continued she, confidently, 
“ and you would be most awfully bored with your own 
company, and would be always peering through the 
trees to see if there were any one coming up the drive 
— and if you did see a figure, or figures, no matter 
whose, you would simply rush to bring them in. I can’t 
think how it is you are so fond of people, Willie,” she 
wound up, still amused at the picture fancy had conjured 
up. 

Oh, I don’t know that I am particularly fond,” re- 
sponded he, placidly. 

“Not fond ? And you know you are always remind- 
ing me of houses I owe calls to, and hinting that we 
ought to entertain more ; and if I once gave you your 
head, we should have our spare rooms full every month 
of the year.” 

“ Easy now, I shouldn’t like that at all.” 

“ What would you like ? ” 

“ I think,” said he, after a minute’s hesitation, “ that 
we are not very good neighbours ; that we might do more 
than we do in the way of hospitality without living ex- 
actly in a racket. We have been married for some years, 
and ” he paused. 


4 


THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


“ And what has that to do with it ? ” A slight sharp- 
ness crept into Olivia’s tone. What does it matter to 
any one but ourselves how long we have been married ? 
Surely we have a right to lead our own life, the life that 
suits us best, whether we were married yesterday or 
twenty years ago ? ” 

I only meant, dear, that perhaps a little more is ex- 
pected — that is to say, it is not as if we were a boy and 
girl newly setting up housekeeping, and with a lot of 
other things to think of,” ventured he, watching to see 
whether she would catch and resent his meaning — “ your 
time is not taken up with ” 

“ A nursery,” supplied Olivia, promptly. “ You 
needn’t be afraid to say it. I suppose I should have 
been fond of my children if I had had any, but, as I 
haven’t, I don’t feel the want of them. You know I 
have always told you so, Willie. I am sorry for your 
sake ” — her tone softened, and she put out a hand, which 
he enfolded eagerly — “ but as for myself, I really don’t 
know that — that they wouldn’t have been a little — just 
a little, in the way;” and she peeped at him over the 
bunch of sweet-scented flowers whose fragrance she in- 
haled delicately. 

‘‘That’s the best light to look at it in,” he nodded 
cheerfully. “That’s a capital idea. There’s no sense 
in hankering after what you haven’t got ; but now, you 
see, here we are in this big house, with everything run- 
ning smoothly, and you with all your time upon your 
hands; what I’m afraid of is that people might say it’s 
a bit selfish and niggardly of us to do nothing for any- 
body. There, it’s out. I often think about it, Olivia; 
but as you don’t seem to worry yourself, I didn’t like to 
bother you.” 

“ But you do bother me, Willie ; you bother me very 
much. Oh, dear, why should you choose to-day of all 


THE GARDEN LADY 


5 


days to start such an odious subject ? Now, don’t say I 
began it. I didn’t — at least, I didn’t mean to. And as 
for pretending it is a new thing ” 

“I didn’t pretend that, you know.” 

“ You led up to it as if it were, and it’s not ; it’s as 
old as the hills. It comes up every now and then as 
regular as clockwork. And I have told you so often, 
Willie, how I feel ; and you know you do care how I 
feel. Of course, it is all very well for you ; you are as 
strong as a horse, and you don’t know what suscepti- 
bilities are, and how dreadfully people can jar on one — 
and after all, what can they want with me, when I want 
nothing with them, or of them, or from them ? ” protested 
Olivia, plaintively. “ So very, very few people care for 
the things that I care for. Of course, if I could pick 
and choose, it would be an exquisite pleasure to have 
intercourse with those whose minds would assimilate 
with mine, who would appreciate the joys I delight in, 
and who would dispense with all commonplaces and go 
straight to the heart of things. I assure you I could 
revel in that kind of society, Willie ; but since it is not 
to be had ” 

“ The other’s not worth picking up? ” 

“ It isn’t, indeed it isn’t.” 

“ For your sake, or for theirs? ” 

“ I don’t see that I need sacrifice myself on the altar of 
popularity. You are not going into Parliament, thank 
Heaven ; and if I were to start rushing from house to 
house and showering invitations about, that would be the 
idea at once.” 

“ Be reasonable, dear. Your fancy flies like a bird on 
the wing,” he smiled patiently; “what need is there for 
‘ Rushing ’ and ‘ Showering invitations ’ ? All I thought 
of was that we might begin by degrees to see a little 
more of our neighbours, rich and poor.” 


6 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


‘‘ ' And poor ’ ? Oh, Willie, you don't want me to 
begin parishing ? ” 

“ Might you not do a little more in that way ? Don’t 
most ladies living in country places interest them- 
selves ” 

“ But this isn’t a ‘ Country place,’ ” protested Olivia, 
eagerly. “ I have always told you so. Of course, it is 
very nice ; just the kind of odd rambling old house that 
pleases and satisfies me, but one of its great points is that 
it entails no troublesome responsibilities on either of us. 
You couldn’t undertake them, and all I am good for is 
to potter round my garden and in and out of the green- 
houses. The garden is a world in itself, and there is 
always something to do in it. I am quite content, 
Willie ; only I want you to see that you can’t call a small 
domain like ours a ‘ Place ’ .” 

“ Quite right, dear. But I fancy you misunderstood 
me. I ” 

‘‘ Oh, don’t explain ! Explanations are such tiresome 
things. You used the word, and I had to set you right, 
that’s all,” and Olivia smelt her nosegay again. But it 
was she, not he, who presently resumed the argument. 
“ I don’t like to think you aren’t satisfied with the way 
we go on, Willie,” she murmured uneasily. “ Of course, 
you are the very best husband in the world, and I never 
complain of you really. Not really ^ you know. But you 
have got some funny little cranks — you must own you 
have some cranks ”• — she paused for the admission. 

“Tell me about them,” said he. 

“ One is a tiresome concern about what other people 
think and expect, whereas they are most likely thinking 
nothing at all and expecting still less — I mean, of 
course, as regards us. There is not a single family 
hereabouts with whom I should care to be on intimate 
terms ; and if I don’t, why should they ? ” 


THE GARDEN LADY 


7 

‘‘ But there are some very nice people, and they are 
cordial enough when we meet.” 

** You are cordial, and take it for granted they are. 
You have a bluff, genial manner that compels a sort of 
response. Oh, I daresay you are more popular than I, 
but all the same, I don’t believe either of us would 
shine in society, and luckily we don’t care for it.” 

** Since you don’t, Olivia ” 

“ Oh, don’t put it upon me ” — Olivia made a restive 
movement — “or rather, you may put it upon me if 
you like,” she added, after a moment’s thought ; “ but 
I know in my own mind that you would not be happier 
gadding from house to house, getting stout and red- 
faced from big dinners and champagne, than you are 
leading our quiet peaceful life, with everything arranged 
to suit your hours and habits. You know, Willie, it 
must be delightful to come down here to this perfect 
repose and harmony after the horrid turmoil of your . 
business days.” 

“ It is indeed, little woman. Although to be sure ” 
— Willie was not without humour — “ my business days 
are not quite so horrid to me as they would be to you. 

I can endure them, Olivia,” — and the corners of his 
mouth as well as his eyes twinkled. 

“ Well, then, since you can get as much talk and 
bustle as ever you like in your beloved City,” quoth she, 
changing her front, “ what do you want with more ? ” 

“ I did not say I wanted more, but I thought per- 
haps more might be wanted of us.” 

“ You must know, Willie, that it would be absurd 
for us to pose as people of position and take any sort of 
initiative about here. You are only a plain London 
merchant and I am a merchant’s wife, and have no wish 
to pretend to be anything else. But,” continued Olivia, 
with a little flush on her cheek, “ I can’t help knowing 


8 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


that while I haven’t the birth and fashion and all the 
rest of it that goes down in the world, I have something 
—I am something— oh, Willie, won’t you say it for me, 
I am different from the common herd, am I not ? ” 

“ You know what I think,” said he, softly. He 
worshipped the woman at his side. 

“ And I can’t come into contact with my fellow- 
creatures without realising this,” murmured Olivia. 
“ Their pleasures, their interests, the trivialities that 
seem so all-important to them never appeal to me in 
the least. I think, ‘ Dear me, what does all this 
matter?’ when one and another pours out a flow of 
words about nothing — for it is chatter, chatter, chatter 
about the commonest, most everyday stupidities all 
the time — and I am simply seething with impatience 
to have done with it long before the tale is over. I 
don’t care to know, I don’t want to know, what this 
one said and what that one said, and to be asked if it 
isn’t odd that So-and-so should do something or other 
that Some-one-else couldn’t have supposed her capable 
of? Oh, Willie, you may laugh, but that is the sort of 
thing that women’s conversation is mostly made up of, 
and I daresay men’s too for that matter — and if I 
venture to put in a word of what I like, or to talk of a 
book I’m reading, or to throw out an idea that isn’t 
just lying in the rut that everybody treads, I am met 
by such a stare I ” 

“ I daresay you are a little over their heads. You 
are often over mine,” and Willie nodded admiringly. 
“ You are — let me see — a superior ” 

“ Oh, no, Willie, not that dreadful thing ‘ A 
superior woman’. Oh, not for worlds!” — and Olivia 
threw out her hands at him with an air he found 
enchanting. “That isn’t me; indeed, indeed it isn’t. 
The superior woman loves to talk about herself-— oh. 


THE GARDEN LADY 


9 


Willie, how can you, how dare you ? ” But she blushed 
beneath his laugh, and he hastened to make the 
amende honorable. 

“ That was my clumsiness,” said he, cheerfully. 
“ There’s all the difference in the world between talk- 
ing straight to me and to people generally. Who can 
you talk to about yourself if not to your husband? 
And what other subject could ever be as interesting to 
him, eh, little wife ? Well now, it’s plain you don’t 
hit if off with commonplace folks, and I’m rather afraid 
we can’t import the other kind to this neighbourhood. 
You ought to have lived in the days of the salons, Olivia, 
when you could have packed your rooms with poets and 
philosophers. Jingo, you would have been in your 
element then.” 

“ I should have hated it,” said Olivia, quickly. “ That 
is to say,” amended she, after a moment, “ I should have 
hated the worry and publicity of it. The continual ex- 
citement would have knocked me to pieces; and the 
dressing ” 

“ Oh, come, you generally do a bit of dressing, though 
there’s no one but me to see. What do you call this 
now ? ” — and he drew out the long end of her sash which 
floated near — “ this is an elegant performance, and quite 
the latest fashion, I daresay.” 

“ My dear Willie, it is not the fashion at all. I wear 
a sash because I like it, and it does not in the least 
matter to me whether it is in or out of fashion.” 

“ You always look tip-top ; I don’t want to see any 
one better turned out than my wife.” 

“ Because I have a little taste,” said Olivia, modestly. 
“ And also because I have some character, sir. I wear 
what suits me and is pretty in itself— and you have just 
testified to the result.” 

“ In my own coarse way,” said he, his eye twinkling 


10 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


again. Well, we have got off the subject we started 
with, and I won’t vex you by bringing it up again. Of 
course, the great thing is that you are happy, and that 
your life contents you ; as long as you can say that, 
Olivia, I don’t see that either you or I need bother about 
social obligations — and others. I only thought I’d 
mention it.” He rose and paused ; he had accidentally 
overheard a remark that morning which had led to the 
whole conversation above narrated. He had caught 
the words : “The Seafords are no good ; they never do 
anything for anybody,” — and Willie Seaford’s honest 
heart had been cut to the quick, and he had gone about 
throughout the entire day with a sense of something 
wrong, something which even the sight of his beautiful 
wife and the perfection of his beautiful home did not 
wholly do away with. 

“ I think I’ll go in and brush off the dust,” he said 
presently, and passed indoors. 

It was now six years since the Seafords, as a young 
married couple, had taken possession of the retired and 
somewhat dull-looking house which his wealth and her 
taste had speedily transformed into one of the most 
charming abodes of the neighbourhood. Its very name 
had been altered to suit Olivia’s fancy. 

When standing empty, and when purchasers were 
desired on the death of the former owner — an old man 
who led the life of a recluse — the agents had considered 
“ Beech Hall ” an attractive and well-sounding designa- 
tion, but the young wife had indignantly pointed out the 
lack of beeches and the absence of any hall-like preten- 
sions on the part of her new domain. “ It does not bear 
the hall-stamp,” she said, laughing, and “ Beech Hall ” 
became “The Willow House”. There were willows 
down by the stream, and Olivia loved willows. The 
stream meandered through meadows, and the well- 


THE GARDEN LADY 


I 


grown shady gardens which straggled down into their 
midst captivated the lady, and subjugated her husband. 

“ Aye, that would be just the place for you,” quoth 
Willie, who had wooed his bride in a secluded region, 
and found her love of retirement, as he found everything 
else about her, adorable. “ You must have an outlet, 
Olivia. Some place where you can poetise and rhapso- 
dise in the twilight. Oh, this sort of thing will suit you 
down to the ground ” — and he surveyed the dell with its 
rich pasturage and sleepy brook — and then he turned to 
look at her. Had he, too, been a poet he would have 
added, “ And thou, the spirit of them all ! ” — but as it 
was he only felt in a dim way that he was providing his 
gentle bride with what she wanted, and bestowing un- 
told honour on the spot thereby. 

For himself he was of the earth, earthy. A robust, 
wholesome weed who would flourish in any soil ; his own 
likings or dislikings never gave him a moment’s thought 
in the matter of a habitation. 

It was enough for him that he should be near enough 
to London to pursue his business in the easy, leisurely 
fashion which was all it now demanded at his hands. 
He had inherited a partnership ; and to put our readers 
into the possession of a secret which was the only secret 
Willie Seaford ever had from the wife of his bosom, he 
could have retired from any active participation in his 
affairs and lived handsomely on the fortune they had 
already amassed for him, had he chosen. 

But, in that case, what on earth should he have 
done with himself? Such sport as he indulged in he 
took in Scotland, and a little of it sufficed him ; he did 
not hunt, nor did he take any interest in agricultural 
pursuits — as a fact he knew nothing about them. On 
the days when he did not go up to town he lounged 
about ; inspected what others had done, or were doing ; 


12 


THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


smoked a pipe or two in the stables ; adjourned to the 
farmyard ; poked the pigs ; fed the poultry ; and took 
the dogs for a walk, — but he often found the hours drag, 
and in his secret soul knew that he rose with renewed 
alacrity on the mornings which demanded his appear- 
ance in Lombard Street. 

No, he was not cut out for a country gentleman ; 
but since a rural life was to his wife’s mind, he could 
play at it a little between whiles; and if only Olivia 
would have cultivated a little more neighbourly society, 
or cared to invite down friends from town — but here the 
worthy Willie would shake his head. “ One can’t have 
everything,” he would aver stoutly, “ and hang it all, if a 
fellow is married to the most charming girl in the world, 
it’s hard if he can’t be satisfied with her companionship 
as long as she is with his.” 

As for Olivia, her views were these : Willie is not 
stupid. When I can get him to give his mind to a 
subject, he brings a good deal of natural intelligence to 
bear upon it. But he has not come of an intellectual 
family, and I ought not to expect too much. He under- 
stands me up to a certain point, and he believes in me 
altogether. I could not have borne any one who — Oh, 
how horrid of me ! ” she broke off short, and frowned at 
herself, alone though she was. ‘‘ Oh, what a beast I 
am ! To take dear Willie as if he were a sort of satel- 
lite, a hanger-on ! ” — and for the remainder of the day 
on which these ruminations took shape the unconscious 
Willie was the subject of so much tender solicitude and 
attention that he did not know what to do with it. It 
was a relief when the fit was over and husband and wife 
reinstated in their old positions. 

As a child Olivia had been delicate, and being the 
sole object of her elderly parents’ care, she had been 
early taught to believe that everything entailing effort, 


THE GARDEN LADY 


13 


energy or activity was to be avoided. Surrounded by 
watchful faces, and sedulously guarded from the every- 
day risks that the ordinary children run, it was hardly to 
be wondered at the little hot-house plant should develop 
into the dreamy, sensitive maiden, and finally mature 
into the unapproachable personage who was so little 
known and so seldom seen beyond the precincts of The 
Willow House. 

“ It would be too much for my wife,” was Mr. Sea- 
ford’s formula on every occasion when exertion, either 
bodily or mental, was required. He had married Olivia 
with the firmest faith in her fragility, and a certain 
pride in it. Her parents had surrendered to him their 
treasure, not indeed without reluctance, but with fewer 
misgivings than they could have believed possible ; and 
on their deaths, which severally occurred within a short 
period of the wedding-day, it was intimated to their son- 
in-law that their best hopes had been fulfilled, and that 
as their beloved Olivia’s husband he was, in plain terms, 
a success. 

Olivia truly (and gently) mourned for the old couple. 
They were so very much older than their age — while 
they had attained middle life ere she was born — that 
the loss out of her life was not what it might have been. 
Had she possessed no Willie — but, as it was, Willie’s 
devotion, his pervading, fostering, sheltering, hovering 
worship, was especially sweet in her sorrow ; and she 
found some delightful books which gave her beautiful 
thoughts about it; and soft, trailing black garments 
which did not rustle and fret her nerves came down 
from her dressmaker in town, fitting to a nicety — and 
of course there could be no question of going anywhere, 
or moving in society of any kind, for a twelvemonth 
after each demise — so that on the whole Olivia’s grief 
was tranquil, and had its compensations. 


14 


THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


For one thing, it was such a blessing to be let alone 
in that matter as to which Willie never could be brought 
to see quite with her eyes, to be released for the time 
being of the bogey which haunted her life, otherwise so 
congenial, so exquisitely uneventful. 

Olivia hated events. A period of mourning, when 
she could dispose of every invitation and negative every 
proposal, was — bear with the word — Elysium to her. 

And the less she did the less she wanted to do. Oh, 
Willie, need we ? ” — and the wistful eyes would seek his 
so appealingly that he could not press the point ; where- 
upon Olivia would fly to her writing-table. On such 
occasions, when it was desirable to act quickly, there 
would be no languor in her step; and the note would 
be despatched and the tiresome affair concluded ere her 
husband had a chance to put forth those troublesome 
second thoughts which are often more deadly in result 
than the first. 

Sometimes it dawned on Willie that the fragile crea- 
ture, whom a breath would have blown away in her 
teens, was no longer quite such a thistle-blow as she 
had once been ; and he told himself — feeling almost like 
a traitor as he did so — that Olivia was never ill, seldom 
even ailing. As years passed she exhibited a keener 
interest in her own occupations, and a more healthy 
ardour in their pursuit than she had taken when younger. 
She spent hours in actual manual labour among her 
flower-beds, gaining flesh and colour thereby. She was 
wholesomely tired when the day was done, and slept the 
sleep of a child. By-and-by she began to rise early and 
take her place at the breakfast-table. The morning 
hours were so beautiful, she said. 

And time never hung upon her hands, for if not 
potting, or budding, or bedding-out, she was here, there, 
and everywhere among the dumb animals she had gradu^ 


THE GARDEN LADY 


15 


ally assembled round her, and of whose ways and habits 
she knew a vast deal, to her husband’s continual amaze- 
ment and admiration. 

‘‘ You would make a splendid farmer’s wife, Olivia,” 
said he one day. 

‘‘ Better than you would be a farmer,” laughed she. 

“ Surely you are ever so much stronger than you 
were when I married you,” pursued Willie. “ I suppose 

now you couldn’t ” but she knew what was coming, 

and took alarm at once. 

“ No, I couldn’t, Willie. No, Willie, I couldn’t. I 
can only just get along with my little trivial round — 
with Jenkyns and the garden, and Jerry and the pigs — 
with you, my dear Willie, to bring me the papers and 
news — and the rest of the day for my music, and books, 
and drawing. If you try to force anything more into 
me or out of me I should simply shrivel up and die.” 

“ You haven’t tried, dear. A few years ago you 
would never have believed you could do what you are 
doing now. I remember when it was almost too much 
exertion to walk to the end of the lane — and you drove 
twelve miles yesterday and were none the worse for it. 
Besides going over the old castle when you got there,” 
added he, radiant at the recollection. 

“ Oh, that. That sort of thing doesn’t tire me,” 
rejoined Olivia, easily. “ I don’t mind how far I go if 
it is to see anything worth seeing ; and I daresay now 
that I have once been to Ivy Moat I shall often go ; but 
what I was afraid of was that you were going to begin 
about — ril drive with you, Willie, whenever you like, 
so long as you don’t ask me to stop at houses. Oh, 
Willie, Willie, I knew it — I knew by your face that was 
what you had in your mind. You can’t get rid of that 
idea that one has no right to be happy in one’s own way 
independently of other people.” 


i6 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


“It would not be any very great effort just to call 
on the Gainsboroughs. It is so long since their cards 
were left here.” 

“What good would a call do? You know they 
wouldn’t be satisfied with that. They would want us to 
go to their parties and things. And we should have to 
ask them here. And it wouldn’t even stop there, for if 
the other neighbours knew that I could call on the 
Gainsboroughs, who live miles away, they would expect 
me to go to them. Of course they would. And all my 
beautiful, peaceful life would be at an end ! ” Her eyes 
grew large and mournful at the idea. 

“ I have said so often that you aren’t equal to visit- 
ing 

“ ‘ Calling ’ isn’t ‘ Visiting,’ Willie. I wish you would 
remember that, Willie. ‘ Visiting ’ means staying in 
houses, not poking in cards at the door.” 

“ Yes, well — but listen a moment. If you would go 

only once a year to each house ” 

“ I tell you it would do no good. It would do harm. 
It would give rise to endless complications. ‘ Why 
doesn’t Mrs. Seaford come to us ? ’ ‘ Why doesn’t she 

take part in our entertainments, our charities, our fusses 
and fidgets ? ’ That would go the round immediately. 
And it is so much easier to keep out of everything ; then 
no one can be hurt, and it is simply understood that I 
am an invalid — what ? What are you laughing at ? ” 
“An invalid who works like a galley-slave in her 
garden and drives twelve miles to explore a ruin ! ” 

“ One may do that and yet have no strength for 
other things. It is the talk, the noise, the hot rooms 
in winter, the glare and dust of the roads in summer, 
and the utter vapidity of it all at any time,” cried Olivia, 
whose meaning was clear enough though not lucidly 
expressed. “ I tell you again, Willie, as I have told 


THE GARDEN LADY 


17 


you a hundred times (only you never do believe me), 
that if it were worth it, if I could get the society I 
should like by struggling for it, I would brace myself 
up and struggle ; but just to meet dull, commonplace 
people and be half killed by all the concomitants 
one must encounter in order to ferret them out, does 
seem a waste of force. I shudder to see myself as I 
might be if I gave in to your ideas. In this populous 
neighbourhood I should never have a day free ; I should 
never be able to call my soul my own ; and all the joys 
of my life, all the dear delights that fill my days and 
make me so independent of outside influences would be 
thrust into a corner, and perhaps end by losing their 
charm even for myself.” 

“ What a picture ! ” said Willie, laughing. 

But it is to be feared he was hardly repelled by it 
as he should have been, and it almost seemed as if the 
next minute he heaved an imperceptible sigh. 


2 


CHAPTER II. 


THE AUTHORESS. 

“ What are you grinning at ? ” 

Colonel Thatcher, who, in virtue of his being a 
fairly old man with a very young daughter, occupied 
the seat by his wife’s side in her victoria while Kitty 
perched on the ledge opposite, put the above question 
with his usual directness. Kitty was beaming all over, 
and for his part he saw nothing to beam at. 

It was only the Seafords’ carriage that flashed 
past, and to which, or rather to its solitary occupant, 
he had reluctantly to raise his hat. 

He disliked Olivia — disliked her both actively and 
passively. Actively, because in several ways she had 
more than once crossed his path and obstructed his 
schemes, passively, because her high-swung barouche, 
with its glittering harness and pair of fine thorough- 
breds, made his modest little equipage look small, too 
small for the three people in it. 

The colonel, though now retired from his command, 
had still the feelings of a superior officer, and resented 
being outshone by his juniors even when he could not 
call them his subalterns. 

The ^Seafords were young, and, so to speak, newly 
arrived, while he had fallen back upon family acres — 
yet they lived in a style to which he, with his large 
family, could not aspire, and what was more, lived 
independently of his opinion or countenance. 

i8 


THE AUTHORESS 


19 


It was, of course, the wife’s doing. Willie was a 
nonentity so far as the neighbourhood was concerned — 
“ Though I am told he is a good enough business man,” 
the old soldier would observe, chin in air. That was 
outside his province, and he washed his hands of any 
knowledge of or concern in it. 

But he held that socially Mr. Seaford was of no ac- 
count, and concentrated upon Olivia his mental scowl. 

To see her faultless form, faultlessly arrayed, reclin- 
ing at ease with space and to spare all round, while he 
had to be tucked in beside his wife’s somewhat ample 
proportions, with his legs anywhere, suffering cramp at 
intervals, was a grievance in itself, and Kitty’s radiant 
countenance aggravated the grievance. “ Can’t stand 
that woman,” he muttered sourly, as the barouche 
whirled on in front. 

Dear me, I was thinking how pretty she looked ! ” 
responded Lady Fanny, innocently, “and here’s Kitty 
thinks there is no one like Olivia Seaford in the world.” 

“ Kitty’s a little fool. Sit straight, child, and do, for 
Heaven’s sake, give me room to spread my toes some- 
where ; ” and the luckless man, hot and tortured, drew 
up a leg by the knee, while Kitty edged off a few inches 
and invaded her more accommodating parent on the 
other side. 

“ Mrs. Seaford might have taken you in beside her 
and never known you were there, but catch her! That 
kind of fine lady is the most selfish creature on earth,” 
pronounced Colonel Thatcher, fixing a glaring eye on 
the flushed, emotional young face opposite, whence he 
expected protestation. 

Kitty, however, pressed her lips silently together. 
She would not profane Olivia’s name by having it ban- 
died about in a quarrelsome discussion. 

“ So you can’t stick up for your friend, eh ? ” gibed 
2 * 


20 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


her father. “ She must be pretty bad if you haven’t a 
word to say in her defence.” 

“ Now, now, my dear,” interposed his wife. “ Now 
you are really too severe. I daresay Olivia never thought 
of it. She is generally in the clouds ; and coming upon 
us suddenly in a country road — besides, she may not be 
going our way.” 

“ She must go our way for the next couple of miles. 
That great turn-out of hers can’t get along a lane at 
this scratchy season ; and if she is taking the round by 
Hubley Bottom, as I don’t doubt she is, she passes our 
very door.” 

“ She would not think of it,” murmured Lady Fanny. 
“ Olivia was never brought up to think of other people.” 

“ A proper friend for your daughter ! ” 

But at this Kitty spoke at last. “ If I could call 
her my friend it would be the proudest day of my life, 
— it would, and you may say what you please, father ; 
but as it is, it’s — it’s nonsense. Friends are equals — 
but Olivia ” 

“ Well ? Olivia ? Go on,” cried he, with a provok- 
ing laugh. “ Let’s have it out ; in what is your pre- 
cious Olivia different from other people? ” 

“ In what is she like them? ” cried Kitty, inflamed. 
“ If you don’t see, and can’t see for yourself — — ” 

“ I don’t and I can’t — except that she is a fantastic 
creature who gives herself airs even to us who have 
known her from childhood.” 

“ Mother, zs that true? Is that fair? Mother, do 
speak. You know Olivia, and does she ever — I never 
heard anything so unjust;” Kitty’s voice shook, and 
indignant tears welled to her eyes. “ You might stand 
up for her,” she adjured passionately. 

Whereat Colonel Thatcher laughed. “ You will not 
get your mother to back you up this time,” quoth he. 


THE AUTHORESS 


21 


maliciously. “ Shall I tell you what she said to me the 
other day ? That she was so held at arms’ length when- 
ever she went to The Willow House that she hardly 
knew how to go on calling there. Aye, she did, she 
said that. Those were her very words. Ask her. She 
can’t deny them.” 

“ You know, Kitty, I have been twice turned from 
the door when I could actually see Olivia in her garden,” 
allowed Lady Fanny. “ And I did think it did 
seem a little strange, so well as I once knew her 
family.” 

“ She hates callers. She gives orders that she is not 
‘ At Home ’ to anybody these lovely summer afternoons,” 
asseverated Kitty, eagerly. “It was not you, it was any 
one who came, who had to be stopped going in ; because 
she says people will hunt her out, and they do so inter- 
fere with her beautiful, open-air life, the thing in the 
world she cares most about. It is horrible for her to 
be brought indoors, and made to sit in a stuffy room.” 

“My dear, I could have gone to her; I would not 
have brought her in. And Olivia’s rooms are never 
stuffy.” 

“ They are rooms ; and what she loves is the free 
space outside, with only the trees and the flowers and 
the birds singing.” 

“ Yes, well, we all love those. I think none of us 
care to be immured within walls in weather like this. 
I am a country body myself,” said Lady Fanny, placidly ; 
“ and I quite sympathise with Olivia’s tastes ; I should 
have gladly joined her and made my call among her 
pretty flower-beds.” 

“ But then she would have had to sit and talk to 
you. She could not have gone on with her raking and 
watering.” 

“ Well, no, she could hardly have done that,” Lady 


22 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


Fanny laughed. Still it would not perhaps have been 
much to give up, a few minutes to an old friend.” 

Mother, I told you it wasn’t you, Olivia never 
says a word against you, only if she were to open her 
doors for one she would have to do it for all, and there 
would be an end of all her comfort. She prizes her 
quiet hours and thoughts, her wanderings in the fields, 
and what she calls her * Communings with Nature in 
all her moods ’ so highly that she thinks it would be ab- 
solutely wrong and wicked to allow them to be wrenched 
from her. Besides, it is not only the time that would 
be wasted, it is that her spirit would be ruffled.” 

“ My dear Kitty, that is a little absurd — pardon me, 
but I must say it. Olivia lives too much in dreamland. 
Her life is made so very easy for her — always has been 
— that she has abundance of leisure wherein to cultivate 
her mind and pursue congenial occupations without per- 
mitting them entirely to engross her. I see a great 
deal to admire in Olivia ; it is certainly unusual to find 
a young woman of her appearance, and with her talents 
and charm of manner, destitute of any desire for admira- 
tion, and content to lead the retired life she does. In 
these days when everybody wishes to be known and 
noticed, to have their names in the papers and their 
doings chronicled even if they do but open a bazaar, or 
visit a hospital, it argues a certain strength of character 
and refinement in Olivia Seaford that that sort of cheap 
publicity repels her. There is no doubt she could have 
it. She would only have to do as others do, and her 
most trifling acts would be recorded and magnified. But 
Olivia prefers higher and purer pleasures; the only 

question is ” Lady Fanny paused and Kitty struck 

in impetuously : — 

“ You do appreciate her, mother ; and if you knew 
her better you would appreciate her still more.” 


THE AUTHORESS 


23 


“ You haven’t let your mother finish her sentence,” 
quoth the colonel, dryly. He had fidgetted and snorted 
scornfully at intervals during the above, but he had not 
interrupted, having an inkling that in the end the fair 
lady against whom he bore such an animus would meet 
with her deserts at the speaker’s hands : “ She’ll smash 
her yet,” he murmured under his breath, and waited. 

“ I cannot but think Olivia’s rapturous delight in 
solitude, and her absolute independence even of her 
husband’s companionship, is a snare,” pronounced Lady 
Fanny, with as much decision as she could bring herself 
to throw into the words. “ She wants nothing of her 
fellow-creatures, and is impatient of the idea that they 
want anything of her. Well, we shall see ; she is young, 
and the realities of life so far have hardly touched her. 
She may yet emerge from her trance.” 

Trance ? She is perfect as she is. Oh, I hope, I 
do hope she will never ‘ Emerge ’ as you call it, mother, 

‘ Sink down ’ as I should call it, into a dull, ordinary 
woman — but no, Olivia would never do that.” 

“Ha-ha-ha!” It was her father’s laugh which 
brought Kitty up short, and vibrated cruelly through 
her frame ; and so obvious was her pain that even he 
controlled himself in view of it, and also perhaps in 
answer to a warning pressure of his wife’s hand. Albeit 
an irascible neighbour and masterful head of a house, 
the old soldier was affectionate as a family man, and 
invariably penitent directly a teasing fit was over. He 
had married late in life, after he had “ Done with India ” 
as he phrased it ; and ever since there had been some- 
thing of a strain with the four sons who speedily 
followed to be educated and started on various careers 
— to say nothing of the younger ones, who, headed by 
Kitty, were now making fresh demands on his by no 
means overflowing purse. He could get along — but he 


24 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

could not get along without an effort and a grumble. 
Lady Fanny, who was many years younger than her 
husband, took things more easily — and that is all we 
need say of the Thatchers at present. Let us return to 
the colonel’s passage-of-arms with his little girl sitting 
opposite. 

“Ton my word, I shall engage you as my defender 
next time I am attacked behind my back,” quoth he, 
relaxing. “ Hey, Kitty ? I don’t like your friend, mind 
you, but still perhaps it was a bit rough on you to have 
her abused for what after all is her nature and can’t be 
helped. The mischief was done when she was a child, 
if it wasn’t altogether born in her. And as your mother 
says, she has her good points. She stays at home, and 
doesn’t bring hordes of flashy people down to it neither. 
She doesn’t gad, and flirt, and gamble. That’s some- 
thing. I daresay if she had a dozen children — but stop 
a bit,” a frown arising, “the woman’s got a husband, 
and a deuced good husband. There’s not a better fellow 
going in his own way than Willie Seaford ; yet people 
do say, you know ” 

“ What ? ” burst like a rocket from Kitty’s lips. 

“ That she treats him as if he were the dirt of the 
earth,” rejoined the colonel, coolly. “ That he is made 
to wait on her hand and foot ; to stand between her and 
every disagreeable, ward off every nuisance, make ex- 
cuses for her, tell lies for her ” 

“ Here we are at the gate, John.” 

The little white gate which bounded her modest 
drive, and which must needs be opened by one of them- 
selves, there being no lodge, was never a more welcome 
sight to Lady Fanny than at the present moment. Her 
husband’s voice was rising; his softened attitude to- 
wards Olivia Seaford had melted away ; and in another 
second he and Kitty would be at each other’s throats 


THE AUTHORESS 


25 

again. She briskly drew off his knees the linen dust- 
wrap, and almost pushed him out of the carriage. 

“ Bless me, I’m as stiff as a pikestaff.” The luckless 
gentleman had to rub the calves of his legs with expres- 
sive “ Ugh-ughs ” of only partial relief ere he could 
hobble to the gate, and after that he called for his 
stick, which was found beneath Kitty’s seat, and would 
not get in again. The danger was past, and Lady 
Fanny blessed the gate afresh in her heart. 

But Kitty sat swelling with anger and mortification. 
Not being a modern girl in the accepted sense of the 
word, she could not, perhaps she would not if she could, 
have reduced her parents to absolute subjection — but 
battle with them she would and did. To her view they 
knew so little ; were so narrow and prejudiced ; and al- 
though very good and kind and all that, were so terribly 
out-of-date, that it was only by fighting every inch of 
the ground that she could make head at all against the 
tiresome stupidity of her life. Olivia Seaford had gradu- 
ally stolen into it, effulgent as a star ; a glorious, 
beauteous object, whose beams shed a halo over her 
commonest surroundings, and transformed the most 
ordinary events which came within their radius. 

For some years she worshipped silently and from 
afar, no one suspecting her secret. 

It was enough to catch distant glimpses of her idol, 
to hear of her, to picture her, to imagine scenes in 
which Olivia moved and talked, her lips dropping pearls 
like those of the fairy princess of old. She would robe 
h-er princess in ideal garments — now blue, now pink — 
till, learning one day from a casual observation that 
Mrs. Seaford generally dressed in white, all at once 
everything but white seemed a desecration. 

She read books that she fancied Olivia might be 
reading. She never undertook a new departure nor 


26 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


engaged in a new pursuit without wondering in what 
light the other would have looked upon it. Things 
became interesting or uninteresting, of worth or worth- 
less, according to the light she saw them in through 
Olivia’s eyes. 

And, strange to say, the being thus created in the 
little girl’s imagination was up to a certain point not 
unlike the real Olivia. When by-and-by there came a 
first meeting, an actual meeting in which the tremulous, 
palpitating Kitty was a recognised individual (she never 
forgot the first few words in which she was addressed, 
nor the smile which was her very own), the foolish 
little thing did not, we are glad to think, receive a 
shock. 

She might so easily have done so, extravagance 
having run riot in her brain, — but Olivia was in a happy 
mood, and therefore at her best. Perhaps the worship 
in Kitty’s adoring eyes touched her. At all events it did 
not annoy her, and the poor little hungry soul was 
satisfied. 

She was more than satisfied; thenceforth she de- 
spised her own creation, and exalted this veritable, 
tangible goddess to a still higher plane than the former 
had occupied. By sheer persistency she forced her 
way to Olivia’s feet and grovelled there — while Olivia, 
half amused and possibly flattered, too, tolerated the 
infliction. After all, a child was not a boresome 
woman. She let Kitty come to the house and made 
her useful. 

Often, it is true, the intruder was kept at work 
in a distant corner of the garden, whence she could 
only issue at intervals to submit an inquiry or per- 
plexity— but she was allowed to be there; slie could 
hear the grating of Olivia’s hoe, or her clear voice 
calling to the gardeners; she could catch glimpses 


THE AUTHORESS 


27 

of Olivia’s hat above the bushes ; she toiled con- 
tentedly. 

And Olivia had tied with her own hands* one of her 
own aprons round Kitty’s waist, and lent her the very 
gloves she herself had worn; also selected her tools 
and shown her how to use them — it was enough. 

When Kitty had to go home at the close of the after- 
noon she would have a few minutes of unalloyed bliss 
ere she left ; for then her task-mistress, perhaps with a 
twinge of conscience at sight of the poor girl’s heated 
face and burnt hands, would praise her work kindly, 
and kiss her good-bye with a cheerful, affectionate 
air. 

Poor Kitty little suspected that some of its warmth 
was due to a sense of relief that the visit was over and 
need not to be repeated for another week or so. 

Once Kitty hinted at coming oftener, but this was 
met adroitly. 

No, no, we must not think of that,” quoth her 
friend, smiling. “ You see, Kitty, we ^must not make 
too great a difference between you and others, and I do 
not want any others. I could not bear them,” cried 
Olivia, frankly. “ I am only just able to bear you.” 
And to be thus borne seemed so wonderful and so 
adorable that the fortunate young person thus dis- 
tinguished departed treading on air. 

If she had heard Olivia’s sigh as Wednesday came 
round again ! How the weeks do fly ! ” Then Mrs. 
Seaford would look about impatiently, and if a cloud 
were in the sky she would predict rain. Surely the 
Thatchers would be weatherwise enough to stop Kitty’s 
coming in a rain-storm ? 

But, though it literally pelted once, in rushed 
Kitty, radiant. 

“I got off before it began. I saw it coming on, 


28 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

and escaped by the back-door. And oh, Olivia, I am so 
glad you live near the high road, because father and 
mother would never let me walk here alone if I had to 
come by the lanes ’’—and the speaker gazed at Olivia 
with glad, triumphant eyes, secure of sympathy. 

Olivia felt a pang of compunction. Do you really 
care so much to come, Kitty? ” 

“ OA / ” said Kitty. 

“ You don’t mind getting wet ? ” 

‘‘I mind nothing if I may only be withyow.” She 
caught Olivia’s hand and kissed it. Olivia rather wished 
she wouldn’t. 

What on earth was she to do with Kitty confined 
indoors? As it happened, she had a special use for 
that wet day, and would not have minded for once 
foregoing her outdoor occupations, — so that the presence 
of a third person, and a third person who would not 
be shaken off, was particularly irksome. 

When engaged in reading or music, Olivia liked to 
be alone in the room, and the feeling had grown upon 
her to such an extent that, however silent or unobtrusive 
the occupant of a chair or sofa might be, there was a 
sense of restraint if her solitude were invaded. 

Still she could have forgotten Kitty Thatcher, given 
her a piece of needlework to go on with, or some china 
to wash — Kitty had shown herself handy in washing 
china, and the Seafords had some so valuable that 
servants were not allowed to touch it — if Olivia had 
only desired to abstract her thoughts in an ordinary 
way. The tiresomeness of it was that no ordinary 
abstraction would suffice for the task she had in hand ; 
yet to put it aside to a more convenient season was 
heartbreaking. Olivia was writing a book. 

Not a word of her doing so had been whispered in 
mortal ear; it would have been too terrible to tell 


THE AUTHORESS 


29 


Willie, who would have burst out with “ How’s the 
book getting on ? ” before the servants, or even confided 
in his friends, “ My wife is turning author ” — and if not 
to Willie — Willie who simply absorbed her with all 
his pores open — then to nobody. Willie was my 
heroine’s safety valve, and could be trusted implicitly 
with those sentiments and emotions of which the 
greater part of Olivia’s life was made up — but impreg- 
nated with an astounding fact, and a fact to be proud of, 
he would be in a dangerous state of combustion ; she 
durst not risk it. 

The precious manuscript therefore, which was now 
the apple of Olivia’s eye, dwelt fast under lock and key, 
and only saw the light when every footfall ceased in 
the house. Olivia could not write while the servants 
were about ; she could not write till after the daily 
tradespeople had been and gone — (her morning room 
overlooked the back entrance) ; she could not write if 
the mowing machine came too near upon the lawn, or 
the gravel were being raked round the corner of the 
house — naturally she could not write if Kitty Thatcher 
were in the drawing-room washing china or sewing 
embroidery. 

And she felt in the vein, too. Looking out upon the 
deliciously dripping trees and the delicate tangle of 
colour below, inhaling the fresh sweetness of a thousand 
odours wafted in through the open window, she told 
herself that this was an inspired occasion — and /to just 
at the moment when a figure appeared in the avenue ! 
Olivia never swore — good Heavens, no — but she banged 
down the lid of her bureau, and her face as she did so 
was not pleasant to look upon. 

Then Kitty spun into the room breathless, and there 
was, as we have said, a spasm of compunction at the 
sight of her sparkling, glowing countenance. 


30 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

But all too soon it faded, and Olivia was herself again. 
Her morning gone ! Her beautiful morning of silence 
and solitude ! And Kitty had been told, distinctly told, 
never to come before three o’clock ! 

To be sure, an exception had been made for this 
Wednesday, because Kitty’s coming was to be an ex- 
cuse for putting off more troublesome visitors who had 
offered to run down from town and spend the day at 
The Willow House, and Willie, man-like, had seen no 
reason why they shouldn’t. 

Olivia had swiftly consolidated her defence. She 
had secured the enraptured Kitty, regretted to the 
town contingent that she would be engaged with other 
guests that day, and again, on the intervention of the 
elements, mentally disposed of the whole matter. 

So that now she was both angry and aggrieved. 

It was unendurable that an absurd little Kitty 
Thatcher, who probably did not know what to do with 
her time and was a nuisance at home like other newly 
emancipated schoolgirls, should be suffered to throw 
the burden of her own idleness on to other people’s 
shoulders. It was too bad of Lady Fanny to permit it. 
In her heat Olivia flung accusations right and left, re- 
gardless of the fact that Kitty had owned in confidence, 
and not without triumph, that her mother’s consent to 
the weekly meeting had been reluctantly won. 

Olivia, when she first heard this, had been rather 
pleased. So her youthful adorer had had to fight for 
what she prized so highly ! There was some spirit in 
that, some enthusiasm ; and she appreciated enthu- 
siasm, and was not, as has been said, above being 
flattered. 

But now Kitty and Kitty’s people were all alike in 
her black books, and it was with difficulty that she 
could maintain a decent appearance. What was she to 


THE AUTHORESS 


31 

do? How was she to dispose of her incubus? Her 
eyes suddenly brightened. 

You are the dearest little thing. I wonder now ” 
— murmured she thoughtfully. 

Kitty, who was busy disrobing, paused and looked 
round. A blast of rain spattered on the window-panes, 
but Olivia turned her back on them resolutely. 

‘‘ Are you afraid of catching cold ? ” she adventured. 

Kitty laughed. Catch cold? She never caught 
cold ; she looked eagerly for more. 

“ I am, rather,” said Olivia calmly ; “ and it is such 
a pity, for there is a lot to do in one of the greenhouses. 
Jenkyns and the men are bedding out, and all the places 
that they leave empty by carrying off the boxes of little 
green things have to be filled up. I never allow them 
to rearrange the greenhouses, but liyou ” 

“ Oh, Olivia, could you really trust me? ” 

In five minutes she was bustled off. The green- 
houses lay at the far end of the garden ; and once in- 
stalled, with instructions that took the form of commands, 
to stay at her post, and on no account run to and fro in 
the rain for any purpose whatever, Kitty was safely 
imprisoned for the morning. The importance of her 
mission was impressed upon her — it is to be hoped it 
satisfied her. 

At all events Olivia was now free once more to “ Be- 
long to herself” — a favourite phrase, and could sit down 
to her desk and draw forth the vellum-bound volume, with 
its blank sheets of a particular kind, the only kind she 
could write upon, which Willie had hunted out and 
which had nearly had to be made on purpose, so difficult 
to please was his liege lady. 

“ You know, Willie, unless I have the exact materials 
to suit me I can’t do anything,” explained Olivia— though 
Willie was not to know to what the “ Doing” referred. 


32 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


and had indeed no curiosity on the subject. Olivia 
wanted paper, and wanted some of it bound into a book 
in a certain way, — and it was his business to procure the 
paper and have the book made, and that was all about it. 

She now took out a gold pencil-case of an antique 
pattern, with a jewel on the top ; and having altered a 
vase of flowers so that its best blossoms came into the 
line of her vision, and drawn therefrom a spray of jessa- 
mine to smell at intervals, her preparations were com- 
plete. 

Perhaps the book did not progress very fast. Authors 
who are fastidious about the shape of their pencil, the 
style of their paper, and the objects their eyes rest upon 
when in fine frenzy rolling, are seldom rapid workers — 
but Olivia knew that she could number some of the great 
ones of the earth among her co-faddists, and reflected 
happily and at leisure on such of their idiosyncrasies as 
she could call to mind which jumped with her own. 

She had not a doubt that she was going to write a 
great, little book. 

She pleased herself mightily with the paradox. 

There would be a few pages and a few words on each 
page — but much thought, much originality and beauty, 
a vast amount of feeling and discernment ; there would 
be poetry and perception — love of Nature and love of Art 
— wisdom, knowledge, grace, gaiety, seriousness, sweet- 
ness in The Peculiar Bookf by 0. 5. — which was, if not to 
discover a new world in literature, at least to open up a 
hitherto untrodden by-path. 

“ For though, of course, there have been books, the 
most delightful books, written about woods and flowers 
and gardens,” reflected she (indeed she had, as may be 
guessed, herself saturated with these), ‘‘mine will be 
quite different. I shall strike out an entirely new line. 
I shall put down just what I think and what I feel, and 


THE AUTHORESS 


33 


of course that can’t be what other people have thought 
and felt. It will be recognised at once that here is a 
writer who dares to be herself — which I always have 
dared and shall dare,” continued Olivia, modestly, 
— whatever odium it brings me into with the ordinary 
crowd whose opinion poor Willie thinks so much about.” 

“ And as the Brothertons and Thatchers and the rest 
are always wondering what I do to amuse myself, and 
how I pass my time while so much alone, they will now 
be able to satisfy their inquisitiveness,” further cogitated 
she. “ That is, if they are able to understand what it is 
all about — for I doubt if they will ” — here she laughed — 
“ but, at any rate, I offer them the chance.” And for 
full ten minutes she mused, smiling and picturing the sen- 
sation to be made in the neighbourhood when The Peculiar 
Book, by 0. 5., should bunst like a bomb in its midst. 

The advisability of giving her full name or only its 
initials had occupied her mind much at the start, but 
that crucial point was now settled. “ 0. S. ” would con- 
ceal nothing. Of course, her identity would be dis- 
covered; while at the same time no one would pre- 
sume to accost her on the subject, nor refer to it in her 
presence. 

“ And I think the critics should be given a hint about 
this,” pondered she, drawing circles with a meditative 
pencil. “ It would never do for them to be calling me 
‘ Mrs. Seaford ’ and referring to my home and my life, 
and the influences that have induced my remarkable 
book. Willie must go to the different newspaper offices 
and beg as a favour that they will respect my desire to 
remain unknown. If Willie is civil and sends in his 
card, they will be sure to treat him nicely. Or he could 
ask my publisher — perhaps that would be best. When 
we have decided upon a publisher, I can write him a 
little note about it.” 


3 


34 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

And then she fell to wondering who the publisher 
should be, which opened up a large field for speculation, 
so that an hour or more passed, and the gold pencil-case 
still wandered idly about, and Olivia still smelt the jes- 
samine and gazed through the windows at the dripping 
world of green outside happily, but it is to be feared 
with less and less inclination to do more than thus sit 
and dream. 

That tiresome girl upset me. I know I had some- 
thing to write,” cried she at last. “ It was all in my 
head last night ; and if I could have sat down then — but 
of course poor Willie must needs come stamping in full 
of other things, just when the wind was filling my sails — 
and once put off, it is so hard to get back what one has 
lost. Now perhaps it is gone for ever,” she moaned 
fretfully ; “ I am sure it has, for I can't remember — I 
can't think — oh, whatever is that strange man doing in 
my garden ? ” suddenly she started up. “ Come to in- 
terrupt Jenkyns and take him off his work ! How tire- 
some, how inconsiderate ! Yes, there they go walking 
off together, and of course the others will slacken directly 
Jenkyns turns his back. I shall stand in the window ” — 
suiting the action to the words — “ and if they see me — 
if only they would look this way, idle creatures ” — im- 
patiently — “ stopping altogether, I declare ! And light- 
ing their pipes ! Oh, it can't be twelve o’clock ? ” — 
hastily stepping back to glance at a clock which the 
next moment rang out the hour. “ Oh, dear, my beauti- 
ful morning that I delivered out of the claws of the 
Rushingtons is slipping away and I have got nothing 
done ! ” — and she resolutely reseated herself, pencil in 
hand. 

In the end a few paragraphs, much rewritten and 
reconstructed, did actually get transferred to the page, 
and Olivia stretched herself and clasped her hands at 


THE AUTHORESS 


35 


the back of her neck with the air of a weary labourer 
to whom rest is sweet. Quality is everything, quantity 
is nothing,” reflected she, complacently ; “ I had rather 
put down one word that was the right word than a host 
of meaningless phrases.” 

‘‘There, that will do for to-day,” she concluded, 
after reading over and over again, and here and there 
altering a sentence. “ I have really got on very well, 
all things considered ; and if I could only write out of 
doors, in some little secret nook, with the sound of the 
brook babbling among its rushes — yes, I will, to-morrow 
I will do that. I will choose the spot to-day if the rain 
stops. Kitty may go with me ; she will suspect nothing, 
and I can cast my eyes about. Then I might have a 
little shed built, Jenkyns would run me up one in no 
time, with a table and a box — a box with a lock and 
key — I wonder I did not think of that before ! ” And 
Olivia, all animation, paced the room, considering. “ I 
wonder how I could think of sitting down prosaically to 
write at a desk when all the lovely world without was 
beckoning. And of course ideas would come faster then ; 
they would come in a rush, come of themselves. As I 
am going to write about my garden, it is my garden 
that must surround and inspire me. I never feel so 
gay and buoyant elsewhere. How the sweet peas will 
smell after this rain, and so will the pine woods ! Kitty 
and I must go into the pine woods, for there is the sun 
— oh, and there is Kitty ” — and there was a breath of 
something not quite exultation in the last words ; never- 
theless, Olivia, after a few moments, called to the ad- 
vancing figure gaily. She was uplifted by the new idea, 
and Kitty reaped the benefit. 


* 


3 


CHAPTER III. 


THE HOSTESS. 

That Olivia considered the Rushingtons and the 
horrible infliction of a whole-day visit from them dis- 
posed of, argued that Olivia did not know Mrs. Rushing- 
ton. It was a case of Greek meeting Greek — and had 
we been asked which Greek to back we are by no means 
sure we should have said Olivia. 

Olivia was young — Mrs. Rushington was an old, 
old hand. When she had an end to gain, she discovered 
an amount of strategical acumen worthy of a Bismarck, 
and an indifference to obstacles creditable in a Hannibal. 

Rebuffs she took as thistle-blows ; they floated over 
her and past her, and stuck nowhere. 

In fine, her own point of view so entirely absorbed 
this robust matron’s attention, and so dwarfed that of 
friends and enemies alike, that no other existed for her. 

She had on the present occasion determined to spend 
a day at The Willow House — not indeed for the pleasure 
of Olivia’s company, nor for any benefit to be imme- 
diately attained, but with an object in her eye which the 
following conversation may serve to elucidate. 

The Rushingtons were at breakfast in their London 
house, and busy with the morning post, which in June 
was naturally a full one. 

“ So you are not going to the country to-day, hey ? ” 
quoth Mr. Rushington, looking up the table. “ Put off, 
are you ? ” 


36 


THE HOSTESS 


37 

“ And we cannot go to-morrow, but on Friday we 
might,” returned his wife, considering. 

“Friday? Friday is ever so full,” interposed a 
daughter in some surprise. “ How can we possibly go 

on Friday, when we have ” 

“ Nothing particular.” Mrs. Rushington had 
whipped a note-book from her pocket, and was pre- 
pared with her answer. “ No, nothing that can’t be 
evaded. Only a few teas, and the Grimwoods’ dance, 
which none of you care about. I shall tell Olivia to 
expect us on Friday.” 

“I suppose it is worth the fag?” Mr. Rushington 
sipped his coffee, and glanced at his wife over the cup. 
“It is an hour each way — and two hours of train in 

this sweltering weather ” 

“ A whole delightful country day would make up for 

it. Or ” The speaker paused and smiled cunningly. 

“ I have an idea. Did you not say,” she turned to 
Phyllis, the eldest of the girls, who was more or less in 
her confidence, and now sat, meekly awaiting develop- 
ments ; “ I think you heard somehow that the Lascocks 
do not use their motor every day, that the girls told you 
they were often glad of an excuse not to go out in it. 
I know I understood something of the kind.” 

“ But we couldn’t ask for it,” said Amy, quickly. 
Amy inherited her mother’s decision of character. 
“ Such a thing is never done. No one dreams of asking 
for other people’s motors, if you mean that.” 

“ We could let them know about our expedition, and 
they might offer. They would be almost sure to offer. 
I could go round and see Mrs. Lascock about the 

tickets for that ball and ” 

“ I don’t see how you could do it. Besides,” added 
Amy, rapidly, “ I am nearly sure I heard Muriel say 
they had arranged something for Friday.” 


38 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“Another day would do; I need not fix with Olivia 
till after I have been to Eaton Square. I can run round 
this morning, and write by the afternoon post.” 

“ I doubt if you will manage it. People aren’t so 
keen to lend their motors,” observed Mr. Rushington, 
who took the interest of an idle man in trivial matters. 
“ Remember, you will have to tip the chauffeur, if you 
go. It won’t cost you much less than the train 
would.” 

“ It would be far pleasanter. Dear Algy would 
enjoy the motor.” 

“ Are you taking him ? What on earth are you 
taking Algy for?” In his amazement, Algy’s father 
stopped eating, and stared at his wife with a surprise 
that would have disconcerted most people, but which 
only elicited an easy response accompanied by a smile. 

“ Oh, yes, my dear, we are taking Algy. In fact, 
between ourselves, it is mainly on Algy’s account we 

go-" 

“ Mother hopes the Seafords may ask him to stay 
on ” — Phyllis nodded at her other parent — “ and it 
would certainly be a good thing if they did. But, 
mother,” turning to her, “ do you suppose they would 
ever think of it ? I shouldn’t say Olivia Seaford was the 
person to care about hampering herself with an invalid, 
unless he were an interesting one, a young man from 
the front, or some one of that kind. But poor Algy, 
you know ! ” 

“Algy is a very dear boy,” said Mrs. Rushington, 
quickly. 

“ Of course he is, but ” — Amy looked hard at her 
mother — “the very dear boy of one’s own family may 
not be exactly — I mean, we cannot expect Olivia Seaford 
to give herself up to amusing and petting him as we 
do.” 


THE HOSTESS 


39 


“ Not if she did not know the dear fellow, of course. 
But surely if she saw him and he interested her — and 
he does so love the country, he would be so happy 
there ” — into Mrs. Rushington’s usually sharp, decisive 
tones there stole an intonation that was seldom if ever 
heard in connection with any one but her only son, and 
her hard eyes turned wistfully towards one and another 
of the assembled family in a manner that made them 
interchange glances — “ it came to me all at once,” she 
murmured, ‘‘ and it really seemed an inspiration.” 

“ Of course, if it could be done,” hesitated Phyllis. 

“ But it canHf'' decided her sister. 

Let your mother try,” was their father’s ulti- 
matum. And its wisdom was apparent a couple of 
hours later, when back came Mrs. Rushington from her 
mission radiant. 

“ It is all arranged,” she announced triumphantly. 
“ There was no difficulty whatever about it. We are to 
have the motor for the day — it was quite a mistake 
your supposing they had anything fixed for Friday, 
Amy — and you and Phyllis can both go, as well as 
Algy and me.” 

‘‘ Splendid. Mother, you are really splendid.” 

Phyllis was always a satisfactory person to make 
an announcement to, but Amy looked grave. 

“ A party like that would be rather a bolt from the 
blue. I don’t see that we could descend on Olivia in 
such force, especially if we are to go early,” objected 
she. “ Of course, it would be very nice for us. Well, 
perhaps it might be managed! We can see what she 
says” — for the expedition sounded tempting, and the 
principal difficulty having been so readily overcome it 
seemed stupid to make a fuss about minor ones. 
“ After all, we shouldn’t want any entertaining,” con- 
tinued Amy, addressing her sister as they were left 


40 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

alone, Mrs. Rushington having joyfully departed to 
inform Algy in his little room upstairs of the treat in 
store — “ if Algy were not with us, we need only stay an 
hour or so ; the fun would be in the run there and back 
— but if he goes ” 

“ He ought to go, if he can. It is rather a long 
way, but if he has a good rest there, I daresay it won’t 
be too much for him. Anyhow, as it is on his account 
mother has planned the whole thing, we may be sure 
he is going,” said Phyllis, “and if mother is as clever 
with Olivia as she has been with the Lascocks, it would 
really be splendid for Algy. He has been having very 
bad nights lately.” And again, on her face and on her 
sister’s appeared that softened expression which made 
even acquaintances say there was something rather 
beautiful in the atfection of the Rushington family for 
the poor crippled lad who could never be anything but 
a burden on their hands. 

Mentally, Algy was all right, indeed rather above 
the average in natural ability, but ill-health had inter- 
fered with his education, and at sixteen he was in many 
respects still a child. 

That he was a lovable child has already been made 
plain. He was, in fact, the darling of the house, and 
its one tender spot. 

But for that pale face and those dark-ringed eyes 
which turned so eagerly to the opening of the door — 
but for that quiet room, where there was always leisure, 
and interest, and sympathy for every one who could 
spare a moment from the busy outer world, the Rushing- 
tons would have been considerably worse than they were. 
They were self-seeking, pleasure-loving, elbowing, push- 
ing people, but they would each and all give up some- 
thing for Algy. Algy did not know that his father was 
a brainless idler who would never have had wits to 


THE HOSTESS 


make the money left him by his father, the tradesmaii, 
yet whose contemptible aim in life it was to keep from 
others the knowledge that it had so come. Algy liked 
to hear the news of the day, which Mr. Rushington 
brought in from his club, and gratefully accepted pictorial 
and other papers, which the latter made a solemn busi- 
ness of collecting for him. “ I have an invalid boy who 
likes these sort of things, so I am always glad to hear 
of a really good number,” was a familiar beginning, on 
the strength of which “ That infernal little bore Rushing- 
ton ” could invade the armchair of some good-natured 
great man and worry half an hour’s conversation of him. 

But Algy only thought how kind and entertaining 
his father was ; and when he went away — for he seldom 
stayed "teng — there were the papers, or there was a toy 
from the streets. Had the boy known, it really did cost 
his parent an effort to stop and buy a penny toy on the 
pavement ; and perhaps Froggy Rushington might not 
have done so twice, but that it chanced a noble lord was 
passing and touched his shoulder kindly : “ Something 
for your poor lad at home, eh, Rushington ? ” Rushing- 
ton never having been looked at in so friendly a fashion 
before, took heart of grace and purchased toys at in- 
tervals. 

Algy’s mother and sisters could also on occasion 
violate their sensibilities on his behalf. The girls would 
provide him with company which was obviously accorded 
with reluctance. 

Young men are not, as a rule, selfish towards each 
other in illness, but while they will not grudge an hour 
bestowed on a disabled comrade who at other times is 
one of themselves, they shrink from, and it is to be 
feared evade, if possible, the sick-room of a sufferer who 
is never well, never strong and hearty, and never likely 
to become so. 


Ji ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


Relations as well as friends were difficult to lure 
upstairs in the Rushingtons’ house ; and it said some- 
thing for Amy and Phyllis Rushington that they pursued 
unflinchingly their purpose and from time to time pro- 
vided their brother with a visitor whom they knew would 
have escaped if he could. “But poor Algy will never 
know,” they told each other, and for Algy’s sake endured 
the odium depicted on the countenances of dancing 
partners who vowed defection to themselves thence- 
forth. 

Algy’s mother went still further — she struggled and 
stole for her son. “ Stole ” is perhaps rather a strong 
word, but what do you call pocketing sweetmeats and 
abstracting sugar ornaments from other people’s tables, 
to say nothing of that night on which the wind blowing 
back her cloak while Mrs. Rushington was being seen 
to her carriage, her bare arms were revealed hanging 
with clusters of grapes, designed to regale some one who 
had not been at the supper-table ? 

It was certainly an ugly moment, and the lady’s 
cheeks burnt despite her ready apology. “ I know, dear 
Sir Charles, you would like my poor sick boy to have 
his share of your bounty ; ” she could press his arm, 
and smile into his astonished face, but she never told a 
soul, and Algy ate his grapes in peace. When no 
further invitations came from Sir Charles’s house, Mrs. 
Rushington wondered audibly with the rest, and took 
her punishment like a Spartan. 

And now she was prepared to face any ordeal if only 
Olivia Seaford would succumb in the long run, and Algy 
be installed at The Willow House to revel for awhile in 
June sunshine and country air. 

“ Have you had any reply from Olivia ? ” inquired 
Phyllis on the following evening. “ She could have 
answered by to-night.” 


THE HOSTESS 


43 


‘‘There seems to be nothing here,” replied her 
mother, sorting out letters on the hall table. 

“ We can’t go if she doesn’t write,” observed Amy, 
who was also present. “ Olivia is casual, but she might 
surely have’ sent a postcard.” 

Mrs. Rushington was silent. 

“There is sure to be one in the morning,” said 
Phyllis, cheerfully. “ What time is the motor to be 
here ? ” — looking at her mother. 

“ Half-past ten. We shall take two hours, or per- 
haps rather more, to get down ’’—but here the speaker 
was interrupted. 

“ Half-past ten ! What on earth is the good of rush- 
ing us off at that hour ? ” cried Amy, shrilly. “ And we 
shan’t be in our beds till three ; half-past eleven would 
be soon enough, even if it does take two hours ; we only 
want to be at the Seafords for luncheon.” 

“ It would be more polite to arrive a little before. 
They might want to — to add a little ” — Mrs. Rushington 
stammered, despite herself — “ the fact is, girls, that it 
struck me how very unfortunate it might be if, after 
securing the motor and all ” 

“ What do you mean by ‘ And all ’ ? ” — but Amy’s 
interposition was promptly disposed of. 

“ I mean the weather. To-morrow is sure to be 
warm and fine like to-day, and if we did not go to-morrow, 
when we have actually got the motor, and Algy is so 
well and looking forward to it, and the weather ” 

“ Oh, the weather ! Do you mean that Olivia has 
refused us again? ” — and both girls looked impatiently 
at their mother, but their supposition was so much 
worse than the reality that Mrs. Rushington plucked 
up courage. 

“No, no. No, indeed; nothing of the sort. I feel 
sure Olivia will be delighted ; it is only that — that — 


44 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

what I propose to do is to appear impromptu. To say 

that we have run down on the chance ” 

“ Without letting her know ! ” 

“ There is nothing in that. The Seafords are rich 
people, and there is sure to be plenty of food in the 
house. The only thing required is to give the servants 

time to lay the table, and ” 

“ Mother, Olivia will be furious.” 

“Nonsense, nonsense; you girls never understand. 
You will see how easily the thing works out ; it only 
requires a little tact and savoir-faire. If Olivia were 
given time to think about it she would very likely be 
alarmed, I grant you, and perhaps her cook would make 
a fuss ; that is why I don’t wire ; the household would 
be upset making preparations, — but if we just appear on 
the scene ” 

“ We can’t. We can’t treat Olivia so. We don’t 
know her well enough,” cried Amy, vehemently. “ And 
besides, she is not at all that sort of woman. I always 
think Olivia Seaford a most formidable being. She has 

a way of keeping one at a distance ” 

“ My dear, how absurd. Olivia is never rude. She 
has most pleasant manners — not exactly of the hail- 

fellow-well-met order ” 

“ No, indeed, not exactly that.” Amy laughed ex- 
pressively. 

“ Oh, I daresay she won’t mind us,” intervened 
Phyllis, who was of a more pliant disposition. “ Not if 
we take her the right way. But, mother, you will say 
we only came on the chance ? And you will go in first 
by yourself, and not have us all unloading at the door 
before you can explain ? It would be too awful, with 
Algy to be helped out too ! And if Olivia came upon us 
before you ” 

“ I’ll manage, never fear,” and Mrs. Rushington 


THE HOSTESS 


45 


nodded reassurance, relieved, if the truth were known, 
to have got through the scene better than she had ex- 
pected. And whatever you do, don’t say a word to Algy. 
The poor boy would be in tortures if he knew ; he is so 
sensitive, so afraid of being a nuisance — mind, both of 
you, not a syllable to him” — and she gathered up her 
fan and gloves and prepared to set forth, the above hav- 
ing taken place in the hall when waiting for the carriage, 
which now came round to carry the party to the ball 
which had caused Amy to regard the morrow’s early start 
with such disfavour. 

“ After all, it will freshen us up, if we feel, ^s we gener- 
ally do, hot-coppery,” the latter now conceded; “and I 
suppose we need not come down till the thing is at the 
door.” 

And as the thing was late, and themselves later still, 
in getting together, the start which had been arranged 
for half-past ten o’clock did not actually come off till 
some minutes after eleven ; so that it was perilously 
near Olivia’s luncheon hour when a strange sound was 
heard within the precincts of The Willow House. 

Olivia had passed a happy morning betwixt congenial 
toil and blissful repose; and was now wending her way 
homewards, owning to a healthy hunger, and even cast- 
ing a glance through the open window of the dining-room 
as she passed to see if the table were already prepared. 

Her repast would consist of light and dainty fare. 
She was a little particular about it ; but her cook knew 
so exactly what would please, that the few select dishes 
were sure to be suited to the taste of the atmosphere and 
the probable fancy of her mistress. Solid roasts and 
boileds were kept for the master’s dinner. 

Conceive then the sensations caused alike below and 
above stairs by the hoot of a motor-car within a few 
yards of the front door, and the sight of the said motor 


46 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

drawing up there, full of people, at the very moment 
when that process known as dishing-up was going on in 
the kitchen. Thomas, from the passage window, first 
espied the invaders ; and to Thomas alone of all con- 
cerned it conveyed no pang. His life was a dull one, 
and excitement in any shape welcome. 

But when Mrs. Cook learnt that a party of three 
ladies and a gentleman had been ushered into the drawing- 
room, and that she would further have to provide for a 
London man in the servants’ hall, her consternation 
and wrath made Thomas take speedy refuge in his 
pantry, whence with gleeful bustle he presently emerged 
armed with knives, forks, and glasses, for the extra places 
required on the dining-table. 

I can’t, and I shan’t,” reiterated the kitchen digni- 
tary ; but in the end she had to go to her larder ; while 
with equal passion Olivia in her bedroom protested, 
and equally had to yield to overwhelming circumstances, 
and descend. 

“ Dear Olivia, will you ever forgive us ? ” It was 
Mrs. Rushington who, with a forced beam on her 
countenance, rustled forward, stretching out both hands. 
“ Here we are — and so wretchedly, miserably ashamed 
of ourselves ! We meant to have been here an hour 
ago ; and then if you could not have us, or were away 
from home, or anything, we should have flown off to 
some little inn to satisfy the cravings of nature. But 
you are here, you dear, delightful creature, and I know 
you won’t ” 

She was a bold woman to know it. For a moment 
Olivia did actually contemplate the step her interlocutor 
was so confident she would not take, but conventional 
manners prevailed. 

“ You are just in time for luncheon,” said she, shak- 
ing hands all round — (but she never said she was glad 


THE HOSTESS 


47 

of it, Amy took note) — “and I am sure you must be 
famishing. You must have made a very early start ? ” 

“ But you must not make any difference for us, now, 
will you ? ” adjured Mrs. Rushington, getting easily into 
her stride as the first somewhat stiff fence had been 
surmounted without a breakdown. “ We can eat any- 
thing, you know ; anything. Bread and cheese if there 
is nothing else in the house.” 

“We shall not quite be reduced to that,” Olivia 
smiled coldly; “ but my small meal would hardly suffice 
for four other people, so perhaps you had better come 

upstairs and get clean while ” 

“ But you are sure we shan’t put out your cook ? It 
is so sweet of you to take us like this. Yes, really, it will 
be rather nice to get clean ; ” Mrs. Rushington essayed 
a laugh which she meant to be gay, but which had 
rather a meretricious effect. “ Girls,” she turned to her 
daughters, “you won’t be sorry to see a little hot water, 
will you ? The dust on the roads was terrible, Olivia. 
By the way, I did not explain how it came about that 
we took you by storm. We had the unexpected offer 
of the Lascocks’ motor. What ? ” 

“ I was going to suggest that your son,” said Olivia, 
looking at him with the first sign of kindliness she had 

yet evinced, “should be taken charge of by ” but 

here she paused. Thomas was of course busy in the 
dining-room, and the page-boy, as it happened, had been 
despatched on an errand. 

“ Let me look after Algy,” said Phyllis, stepping 
forward, and Algy’s eyes turned gratefully towards her. 
He shrank from strange attendants, and his thin face 
was now working with apprehension. “ He is my 
especial boy,” continued Phyllis, and she and he were 
directed to a bath-room, where many kinds of taps and 
sponges prevailed. 


48 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

I say, she wasn’t a bit glad to see us ; ” as soon as 
they were alone the boy’s tongue was loosened. “It 
was beastly,” continued he. “ I thought we had been 
invited, till the last minute, when I heard you and Amy 
telling the mater to go in first, and make out a good 
story. Why wasn’t I told ? Oh, I wish we hadn’t 
come,” — and his mouth quivered. 

Phyllis, however, was reassuring. She could not 
indeed say much for Olivia’s welcome, but she could 
promise Algy that he should be taken out of her way. 

“ You won’t leave me with her ? You won’t all go 
off and leave me alone with her ? ” he entreated agonis- 
ingly. 

No, Phyllis would give her solemn word of honour 
they would not do that. “ For our own sakes, as well 
as for yours,” laughed she. “ We’ll scuttle out of the 
way, you and Amy and I ; and we’ll get into the woods, 
those lovely pine-woods we saw coming along.” 

“ That’ll be jolly ; you are sure we shall ? ” 

“And mother can stay and palaver with Olivia.” 

“ But I say, Phyllis, I do hope she won’t look as 
black at us all the time as she did at first ? ” 

“ Of course she won’t. She was only taken by sur- 
prise. Here, let me brush your hair ; and now I’ll fly 
along and find out Amy to pin up this tear ” — exhibiting 
a rent in her muslin flounce — “ and you wait about here 
till I come back to help you downstairs” — and Phyllis 
departed. 

“ I thought I had better go with him and talk away 
his fright a little,” she confided to her sister. “ He 
looked so scared. If only Olivia had been more genial, 
and I do think she might. Most people would have 
felt some kind of — she could see poor Algy was simply 
trembling all over.” 

“ It was a mistake to bring him. He is sure to be 


THE HOSTESS 


49 


the worse for it. Mother might have known he couldn’t 
stand four hours’ — and I daresay it will be nearer five — 
motoring on a day like this. I know/ am tired.” Amy 
yawned and stretched herself. ‘‘ Of course it won’t be 
so bad going back in the cool of the evening, however.” 

“ Do you suppose Olivia will keep us till the cool of 
the evening ? ” queried Phyllis, doubtfully. 

“ She must. She can’t get rid of us. Algy could 
never go back before.” 

But Mrs. Rushington pinched her daughter’s arm, 
when the subject was mooted presently. “Yes, that is 
the charm of a motor. One need never consider its 
powers. Horses must rest ; and if we had come by 
train, we should have had to inflict ourselves on you, 
Olivia, till a train had the humanity to come to the 
rescue. But now we need not stay one fraction of a 
minute beyond the time you would like to keep us. Just 
say when we are to go ” 

“ Mother ! ” Both daughters tried to laugh, while 
Olivia affected not to hear. 

“ How deliciously this syringa smells ! ” — cried 
Phyllis, looking round for a diversion. 

Olivia had approached Algy in the window ; he was 
the only one of the party she did not regard with indig- 
nant aversion, and he was gazing into her garden with 
delight. Although startled by her voice at his elbow, 
its tones were so much more gentle and friendly than 
they had been, that he was able to endure a brief talk 
about flowers with equanimity. 

And at last came luncheon. For her own credit’s 
sake Mrs. Seaford's expensive chef would not send up a 
bad luncheon, and Thomas was bidden hold his tongue, 
and suppose she knew what she was about, when he 
suggested cold beef, and couldn’t he wait till the com- 
pany was seated before taking in the cutlets? The 

4 


50 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

cutlets were excellent, and the cold beef — a thing of 
horror in Olivia’s eyes— looked attractive enough on the 
sideboard to those of Mrs. Rushington, who indeed went 
for it straight away, and, with a jest at her appetite, had 
two helpings. Olivia’s delicate lunch, kidneys, which 
would have been ruined had they waited to be served 
with the rest, had been cleverly chopped into a savory ; 
and Olivia, looking round with an odd curiosity to know 
what she would have had at her peaceful solitary meal, 
could not for the life of her divine. 

There was a succulent salad of fresh young vege- 
tables, and cool, curd-like rings of eggs. There was 
asparagus — a heaped-up dish which made the Rushing- 
tons’ mouths water ; indeed, it was asparagus caught on 
the top of the wave as it were, for, seeing the arrival, 
Jenkyns, a good Jenkyns, left what he was doing and 
darted towards the beds, where with liberal hand he cut, 
and presently took a noble bunch into the kitchen. 
Asparagus is quickly boiled, and the whole repast was 
elevated by Jenkyns’ promptitude. 

A jelly which had been prepared for Willie’s special 
delectation at night was, moreover, ruthlessly sacrificed 
to the present marauders — while the servants were de- 
nuded of their gooseberry puffs (at which Thomas looked 
blank enough, and “Serves him right ” grimly reflected 
his culinary enemy, who had seen through Thomas and 
his pleasurable excitement over what was to her an 
outrage) — so that Mrs. Rushington had really some 
excuse for her enthusiastic laudations of dear Olivia’s 
housekeeping when the luncheon table came into view. 

Olivia herself felt soothed by the masterly dexterity 
of her menage. Olivia was not above a feminine pride 
in it ; it was her boast that everything went on oiled 
wheels at The Willow House — and, aware of this and 
mindful of their own interests, which would have been 


THE HOSTESS 


51 


endangered by any creakings and strainings of the 
machinery, the servants, who knew a snug and easy 
place when they found it, took care to preserve its 
mistress’s peace of mind. 

“ You know, Willie, if we went in for entertaining 
and filling our spare rooms as some people do, we 
should never get along so comfortably,” she had been 
overheard to say, and the cue thus given was played up 
to below stairs. 

But on a desperate occasion, an occasion which was 
known to be resented as much by Mrs. Seaford as by 
the meanest of her scullions, they would not fail her, 
and even the coffee which was brought in presently, 
was all that cotfee should be. 

“ Take it outside, Thomas. That is, if you think it 
would be pleasanter there?” Olivia turned civilly to 
her guests, and Mrs. Rushington, albeit she had had 
enough of “ Outside,” and was very comfortable in the 
shady room whose window awnings kept it cool, had to 
rise responsively from the armchair into which she had 
sunk, and feign a joyful acquiescence in the suggestion. 

And now set in the long, weary afternoon. Obvi- 
ously no help was to be had from the motor, whose re- 
pose in the stable-yard was complete, while the chauffeur 
could be seen starting on a round of exploration, — and 
the hapless Olivia, seated in the midst of her tormentors, 
now replete with good things and enjoying lassitude as 
only Londoners on an off-day can, was indeed an object 
for pity. 

She was caught and caged. She could not suggest 
a drive to people who had already traversed thirty miles 
of road, and had the same on their return journey before 
them. She could not get up a game of lawn-tennis, or 
croquet, or bowls, for the very good reason that she 
possessed none of the weapons of war for anything of 


52 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


the kind — added to which Amy and Phyllis, lolling 
lazily in low chairs, with gloves and hats on their 
knees, were plainly not bent on action or exercise, while 
Algy — it was only too plain that nothing could be done 
with Algy. 

And yet it was on Algy that Olivia’s eye rested. 
She could have taken the boy where she could not and 
would not take his mother and sisters. Her beloved 
garden, those secluded haunts out of sight and out of 
ken to any but the initiated few, should not be profaned 
by Mrs. Rushington’s commonness and her daughters’ 
silliness, but Algy might have understood ; he was 
gazing upwards to where the tall leader of a Welling- 
tonia stood out black against the sky, lost to all besides ; 
and Olivia, following his eyes, saw a wood-pigeon sway- 
ing on the leader, and heard it coo. She and Algy alone 
had ears for the soft, low note. 

“ And I say, what’s that tree with the sun shining 
through its leaves ? ” inquired he, presently. “ I never 
saw a tree like that, with yellow blossoms.” 

None of the rest had seen anything to notice in the 
grand old tulip-tree, which was a feature of the lawn 
and Olivia’s special pride. 

“ May I pick a few leaves, please ? ” said Algy, re- 
spectfully. 

Olivia almost called him “ Dear,” he looked so 
young and timid, and treated her with such deference. 
She sprang up to show him where, the young leaves 
hung lowest, and when it appeared that he wanted to 
dry them as markers for his books, and that he had 
other kinds of markers, ferns and poppies, and beautiful 
thick cotton-rushes from Scotland, she found herself 
quite interested in selecting tender and transparent 
specimens off the tulip-tree, which Algy fingered lovingly 
and presently transferred to his pocket-book. 


THE HOSTESS 


S3 


“ I thought I might get something here,” he con- 
fided, ‘‘but I didn’t think it would be anything so 
beautiful as these.” 

“Just see, girls. I said the dear boy would make 
his way,” breathed Mrs. Rushington aside, in accents of 
suppressed ecstasy. “ Olivia is a little difficult for us to 
get on with, but she and Algy — oh, I should not wonder 
in the least if she were to invite him on. And he could 
stay just as he is; Mr. Seaford could lend him things 
till we sent down his own. If we sent them early to- 
morrow ” 

But ere she could think out the subject, the two re- 
turned from the tulip-tree. “ Now mind you press them 
to-night, directly you get home,” Olivia was saying, and 
Mrs. Rushington’s face fell. 

Then dreariness set in again, till all of a sudden 
something occurred with a start to the dejected hostess 
which she wondered she had not thought of before. 
She would send for Kitty Thatcher. 

A groom was riding slowly off from the stables, and 
in an instant he was arrested, a note was scribbled, and 
the writer returned to her guests — but this time with a 
certain relief in her heart. She had bidden the man 
ride quickly. 

And it was well he did ; the victoria was at Colonel 
Thatcher’s door, and the ladies stood on the door-step 
attired for a garden-party. 

But was a garden-party to stand in Kitty’s way 
when wanted by Olivia? Never before had such an 
honour been accorded her, and she was impatient even 
of Lady Fanny’s mild demur. 

Of course I must go,” cried she. “Just think of 
it ; those awful people she thought she had got rid of 
on Wednesday have descended like locusts upon her 
to-day. Established themselves there for the after- 


54 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

noon, and poor Olivia doesn’t know what to do with 
them.” 

“ But, my dear ” 

“ Oh, don’t stop me,” cried Kitty frantically. 

“What is it?” demanded the colonel, appearing 
from within. 

When matters were explained to him : “ Aye, aye, 
I daresay,” said he, for a wonder not unsympathetic. 
“Just the way those impudent London gentry have 
of treating us poor country folk. I can fancy they 
would make Madam squirm. She finds out now who 
are the better.” 

“There you see, mother, I couldn’t fail her; even 
father thinks I couldn’t fail Olivia in her need.” 

“ I never said so, miss. But I suppose,” he turned 
to his wife, “ she means it for a kind of civility, and as 
she seems to have taken Kitty up after her own 
fashion ” 

“ And you can be much more comfortable without 
me in the victoria,” insinuated Kitty ; “ and as we are 
passing the Seafords’ very door ” 

She had the sense to sit quite silent after the order was 
given to stop at the gateof The Willow House, and further- 
more not to let her father’s legs have too much room. 

“ I shall be gone directly, and then you can stretch 
out in peace,” she smiled and nodded at him ; and she 
was out like a bird when the carriage stopped. 

“ What about picking you up on the way home ? ” 
cried the colonel. But Kitty shook her head, laughing. 
She would much, much rather walk. Also it would be 
cool by the time of her return. 

“ That means she’ll stay as late as they’ll have her. 
But I suppose it’s all right ? Drive on.” And the 
speaker resettled himself luxuriously. “ Since it pleases 
her, I suppose there’s no harm in it, eh ? ” 


THE HOSTESS 


55 


It will not last,” said Lady Fanny, with a smile. 

Kitty meanwhile was following Thomas through the 
house, and speedily emerged on the low balcony over- 
hanging the garden. 

“ What a pretty girl ! ” 

The words fell on Olivia’s ear with a little shock of 
surprise. She was so accustomed to Kitty’s face and to 
seeing it often under disadvantage, and indeed thought 
so little about it at any time, that the simultaneous 
ejaculation of the two other girls made her take a 
second quick look, and that look brought a second 
shock. 

Kitty, arrayed in a pale glistening gauze, whose tints 
set off her dazzlingly fair skin, Kitty with a rose-crowned 
hat surmounting her young face framed in its aureole 
of golden hair, was not merely pretty, she was lovely. 
There was a freshness, a vivacity, a brilliancy about her 
which even the Rushingtons, accustomed to the best 
specimens of English girlhood and critical in conse- 
quence, acknowledged generously. 

“ Charming ! ” murmured Mrs. Rushington under 
her breath, and for once she said exactly what she 
thought. 

It could do no harm ; there was no one present to 
contrast this radiant apparition with her own daughters 
in their somewhat unbecoming motoring attire. No 
one who mattered, at least, — and Kitty’s air of delighted 
bonhomie^ her eagerness in narrating how luckily she 
had been caught, and how dreadful it would have been 
had Olivia’s note come one minute too late, could not 
but be flattering to all concerned. 

“ Only I am sorry you should have given up the 
Falconers’ party,” observed Olivia, who perhaps knew 
what this was sure to elicit. 

“ As if I wouldn’lt a hundred thousand times rather 


56 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


comt,io you'' Though meant for an aside, the fervour 
of the speaker’s accents rendered them audible to all. 

As there could be no question of rivalry with Olivia’s 
guests in Olivia’s opinion, her note having set that point 
at rest, Kitty was now ready in her glorious position of 
henchman to demonstrate the wisdom of having been 
summoned, and perceiving that it was mainly by their 
numerical strength that the Rushingtons were formid- 
able, she took it upon her, as she would never have 
done but for the present dire emergency, to make 
propositions in Olivia’s presence. She looked at Amy 
and Phyllis and took their measure on the spot. 

Let us go to the strawberry beds,” she cried. 

Strawberries in abundance had been consumed at 
luncheon, and Mrs. Rushington cast a doubtful glance 
at the speaker, but the girls rose with alacrity, and 
Olivia breathed a sigh of relief as the three dis- 
appeared. 

‘‘Lady Fanny Thatcher’s daughter? Dear me, I 
used to know Lady Fanny’s people. I knew them 
quite well at one time, but we have lost sight of each 
other lately.” Mrs. Rushington settled herself for 
conversation complacently. “ So she is a neighbour of 
yours ? I should like to meet her again. Are they 
anywhere near ? ” 

“ Fairly near, but they are gone to a garden-party 
this afternoon, Kitty says.” 

“ Ah, yes. Another time you must ask them— that 
is if you will — when we are here. But how is it that 
they are not now in town, with a daughter to take 
about ? ” 

“ I really don’t know,” said Olivia, calmly. 

“ Are they, ahem — poor ? ” 

“ Not that I know of ; they may be.” 

“ Perhaps they have a large family ? ” 


THE HOSTESS 


57 


And to this Olivia had to assent. She could not 
feign to be altogether unconscious of the existence of 
ten little Thatchers within a short walk of her own 
house ; and though she could deny all knowledge of 
Colonel Thatcher’s affairs and Lady Fanny’s pro- 
clivities, Mrs. Rushington soon settled the matter on 
the basis of numbers. A man with ten children, and 
children at the educating age, must feel hampered, even 
though the Thatchers whom she knew, and who were 
demonstrated to be Colonel Thatcher’s relations, were 
well-off people, and no doubt Lady Fanny had money 
of her own. 

‘‘ You say they live in a comfortable way ” (Olivia 
had not said so, but “ She would have known if they 
made a poor show,” mentally argued her companion). 
“ Still one may be able to do that in the country, and 
yet have no overplus to spare for London seasons. 
London seasons are terribly expensive, as I am sure I 
ought to know. The way in which even an ordinary 

dinner-party eats into one’s house-books ” but here 

Olivia’s spirit rose. 

She could not, and would not, discuss house-books. 
Her own did not interest her, and she mentally spurned 
Mrs. Rushington’s. 

So deep was her disgust that she did what she 
very seldom did and was ashamed of doing — she cut 
her companion short with a complete change of sub- 
ject. 

“ Your son looks sadly bored — C He looks what I 
feel,’ to herself) — I wonder if he would care to go round 
the garden with me ? ” 

The fly was cleverly thrown, and Algy’s mother rose 
to it on the instant. 

Indeed, indeed he would. Algy, you would love 
that, would you not ? And I will just rest here,” and 


58 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

the poor woman sank back in her chair with a sigh of 
satisfaction as the two strolled away. 

The stable clock rang out four. “ We are getting 
on,” reflected Olivia resignedly, and she led the way 
to the lower garden. 

And Algy found himself astonishingly happy in her 
company ; he had been furious with his sisters for 
forgetting their promise, and had foreseen a miserable 
time till their return ; but, behold, it was the best time 
of the day, the only time indeed he could be said thor- 
oughly to enjoy. Olivia, freed from fretting companion- 
ship, and recognising a kindred spirit beneath an un- 
promising exterior, showed herself in a new light — 
gay, merry, fascinating. She took the boy into her 
confidence on various points ; consulted him as to the 
little secret writing-place by the brook, which was 
already half-built and caught his fancy immensely ; she 
even took a hint from Algy and gave an order in ac- 
cordance with it. When the two reappeared after a 
prolonged absence they were on the best terms with 
each other. 

But the first sight of Mrs. Rushington’s parasol and 
of the converging figures of the rest of the party, now 
ready and eager for the tea which was being carried 
across the lawn, brought back the old Olivia, and Algy’s 
next sentence faltered on his lips. “She’s rather a 
funny woman,” he told himself. 

Tea was dispensed — a large tea, to which the 
Londoners did full justice; but Kitty was now looking 
anxiously at her hostess, and Olivia was very, very 
quiet. 

Even Mrs. Rushington, though partially revived by 
a nap added to renewed maternal hopes, was not quite 
so vivacious as she had been, and the pauses became 
longer and longer. 


THE HOSTESS 


59 


'‘We are really making an unconscionable visita- 
tion.” It was probably the sight of the chauffeur 
obtrusively visible in the entrance to the kitchen 
garden that extorted the above remark ; but when no 
one denied it, and Olivia threw crumbs to the birds 
and feigned to be entirely occupied with them, the 
speaker was driven to proceed. 

“The days are so long now one hardly realises,” 
she murmured ; “ but we took the precaution of having 
no evening engagements, otherwise we should have had 
to go long before this, dear Olivia. The girls had a 
dance, but ” 

“ We can go to the dance if we want,” struck in 
Phyllis, bluntly. “There will be lots of time if we 
start now.” 

“ Yes, to be sure ; then, perhaps — but about when 
does your husband return ? ” Suddenly Mrs. Rushing- 
ton had a happy thought. “ I have not seen him for 
such ages; I should just like to shake hands, if we 
can.” 

It was this Olivia was in dread of. The shadows 
had lengthened, and any moment might see Willie 
emerge from the house, and hear his pleased surprise 
at sight of the party, new and fresh to him, old and 
stale and sickened of by her. Willie would be effusive, 
demonstrative, all that was hearty and hospitable ; 
worse still, he might, and very likely would, invite the 
guests, who had grown to be such an incubus on his 
wife, to remain on. Why should they go ? Why should 
they not stay for dinner ? Olivia, with real agony of 
heart, recognised the extreme probability of the above, 
with its absolutely certain result. 

Mrs. Rushington was lingering, dawdling, catching 
at every pretext for delay, feigning interest in every 
caterpillar that crawled upon the grass, rather than issue 


6o THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


the order which should cut short the situation; and, 
though no one gave her any help, neither was it possible 
for her children to manifest haste to be gone. 

“ Do tell mother to come,” ejaculated Amy, aside ; but 
Phyllis shook her head. She was wrong ; Olivia would 
not in the least have resented such a course of action. 

And it was at this supreme moment, this excruciating 
crisis, that little Kitty Thatcher came to the rescue and 
earned the gratitude of her patroness for — as long as 
Olivia thought about it. 

Kitty up and faced Mrs. Rushington, bent on out- 
witting her. Kitty had an innocent, baby-like face, and 
she made it assume its most babyish expression. “ I 
should so love to go in a motor,” she said. ‘‘ I was 
wondering if you could — that is, if I might just get into 
yours and be dropped at our house? Oh, I do hope 
you won’t mind my asking, but you pass our very door.” 

“ Delighted, but ” It puzzled even the astute 

elder lady to continue on the instant, and she was saved 
the necessity. 

‘‘ My mother would be so grateful,” continued Kitty 
politely, “ for I am rather late as it is ; and she does not 
like my walking alone after five o’clock, even though it 
is very little over a mile. You are going soon, aren’t 
you ? ” 

Even Olivia smiled. 

And in another ten minutes she smiled still more, 
and cried Ooch ! ” and threw up her arms over her 
head, and all but danced a fandango on the doorstep, 
when the departing hands had ceased to wave and the 
faces had vanished down the drive, and Willie was still 
— what ? Here he was at her ear. 

“ Guessed you’d rather I didn’t show up before ? ” 
he observed tranquilly. “ Waited in the library till they 
were off.” 


THE HOSTESS 


6i 


“ Willie ! Oh, you dear ! But how did you ever 
know, how did you have the sense to know ? Forgive 
me, Willie.” In her exuberance she patted his hand 
and nodded at him with radiant eyes. “ Dear Willie, 
it was too wonderful of you.” 

“ I saw your face,” said he. 

The face changed. “ Now, Willie, how can you, how 
dare you ? My face ? ” 

“ It said, * I’m dead beat,’ and said it pretty much 
out loud,” rejoined he. 

“ Why, then, it spoke the truth,” suddenly Olivia 
burst out with exceeding bitterness. The whole thing 
was intolerable, insufferable ; the day had been one long, 
hideous nightmare, and when she saw the last of the 
detestable gang 

‘ “ Hold hard, hold hard ! ” cried he, at this. But she 
refused to hold either hard or soft. 

“ Let me speak, let me speak, Willie. Oh, Willie, 
if you knew ! It was bad enough at first, but it went 
on and on, and I thought it would never be over. And 
when I had done all I could for them — fed them, amused 
them, kept them till nearly seven o’clock — well, it was 
past six at any rate — all I got was Mrs. Rushington’s 
mournful * Isn’t it sad to be going back to town, Algy ? ’ 
and, ‘ Poor Algy will hate town more than ever after 
such a happy day ! ’ ” 

“ Poor little chap ! ” 

“ As if I were responsible for his hating town and 
his happy day!” continued Olivia, indignantly. “I 
don’t dislike the boy; I rather like him, but I never 
brought him here, and I do think it was most cruel and 
wicked of his grasping old mother ” 

“ Easy now, my girl.” 

Oh, Willie, don't say ‘ My girl ’ ; you know how I 
dislike it” And she threw herself into a fresh attitude. 


62 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


expressive of nervous irritability. ‘‘ I can t bear more 
to-night, I really can’t,” she moaned, “ and you might 
have some sympathy.” 

“ I would, if I could help laughing.” 

“Laughing?” 

At the tragic notes he laughed afresh, and flicked 
the ash from his cigar. “You are a bit agitated, my 
dear child, and when that is the case the extent of your 
vocabulary is amazing. However, blow off the steam 
if it does you good ” — and he blew off a cloud of smoke 
by way of keeping the steam company, and folded his 
hands across his waistcoat. 

“ Willie, that is such a vulgar attitude of yours.” 

“ Is it ? It’s a jolly comfortable one.” 

“ You wouldn’t sit like that if the Rushingtons were 
here.” i 

“And you wouldn’t talk like that, like you talked 
just now, if they were.” 

“ Like you talked ? ” Olivia frowned. “ Where can 
you, where do you pick up such expressions ? One 
would really think, Willie, you had had no education.” 

“ What should I have said ?” 

“y4s you talked, of course. The other is — but you 
often say it, and I know you will go on saying it.” 

“ I daresay.” 

“ About the Rushingtons,” said Willie, waking up 
after a pause. “ I’m glad if they were pleased, and you 
did the civil. It was rough on you, I own ; but, after all, 
we are under an obligation to Rushington, as you know.” 

“ I ought to know, I have heard it often enough.” 
Olivia chafed. “ Still I can’t think it gives her a right 
to bully me, and call me ‘ Olivia ! ’ and try to force an 
invitation for her boy out of me — making me feel rather 
a brute not to give it — all because of some horrid thing 
her husband once did for you.” 


THE HOSTESS 63 

I expect she thinks it does give her some sort of a 
right.” 

Then it is mean and disgusting of her, and, as for 
giving in to it, she shall find that I won’t give in to it. I 
will not be at her mercy, why should I ? ” 

“ Go on, go on,” said he placidly. 

“ People are so horrid, Willie, and you won’t see it.” 
“ You see for two, Olivia.” 

“ I only ask to be let alone, and they won’t let me 
alone. They pursue me and beat me down; I am a 
perfect prey — there you go, Willie, laughing again ! ” 
“ When a woman is beautiful, charming, fascinating 


“ Oh, nonsense,” said Olivia, but the angry fit was 


over. 


CHAPTER IV. 


A NEW DEPARTURE. 

It was an understood thing that Olivia never dined out. 

“ They really can’t expect me to go to their great hot 
dinner-parties,” she said — anything Olivia disliked she 
always called “ Great,” — and in consequence invitations 
had almost ceased to come for these offensive entertain- 
ments; but one day not long after this Mrs. Seaford 
approached her husband with a note in her hands. 

“ I suppose we may as well accept this, Willie ? ” 

“ Accept what ? ” He paused in the act of putting 
on his hat to leave the house, and looked his surprise ; 
to accept anything was a new departure. 

“ Read it,” said Olivia, holding the note towards 
him. “ It is not like a regular dinner-party, and I don’t 
mind going for once, if they won’t ask us again.” 

She had been prepared for the invitation ; indeed it 
would not have been sent if such had not been the 
case ; and it was at Kitty’s instigation and rather against 
her own grain that Lady Fanny Thatcher had penned it. 

‘‘ Because Olivia has made it so very plain, my dear, 
that she does not care to come here. However, if you 
think ” 

“ Oh, I know” said Kitty, decisively. “ Because you 
see I — I kind of asked her. That is, I told Olivia about 
Professor Ambrose, and she was so much interested, and 
said she never had a chance of meeting any one of that 
64 


A NEW DEPARTURE 65 

kind — so then I hinted, for I knew you and father 
wouldn’t mind, that if she would really come ” 

“ In fact, you asked her.” 

“ Oh, don’t say that to father. It was only because 
father was wondering who we could get to meet Pro- 
fessor Ambrose, and saying there was nobody, that L 
thought of Olivia, and how splendidly she would do 

j> 

“ What’s that, what’s that ? ” said the colonel, 
entering. 

When matters were explained, “ She’ll never come,” 
snorted he. “ You may ask her, you may lick her boots 
if you like, but you’ll only get a rebuff for your pains. 
What ? Kitty thinks she will ? Because Ambrose is a 
Somebody, I suppose? Because his name is in the 
papers and he is being talked about ? Well, do as you 
please, ask her if you please, but if it was me I’m hanged 
if I would pander to that woman.” But of course it 
ended in Lady Fanny’s writing the note. 

‘‘ You see that Kitty was right,” said she, on receipt 
of the return missive. “ Olivia thinks it so kind of us 
to invite her in this informal way, and is delighted to 
come.” 

“ Humph ! ” 

‘‘ You can’t find any fault with her acceptance, my 
dear. And she is certainly a very proper person to 
meet a distinguished guest. But we must have no one 
else.” 

** Not even fat Willie ? ” 

‘‘Willie comes, of course.” Lady Fanny laughed. 
“ It’s certainly odd that a wife should so completely 
overshadow her husband as to make us take him for 
granted, but somehow one never does think of the Sea- 
fords as ‘ The Seafords ’.” 

“Couldn’t we get one other cock-and-hen couple? 

5 


66 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


I shall have to take in her ladyship if there is to be no 
one else, and the very thought of her rubs me up the 
wrong way.” 

“ Don’t say so before Kitty, John.” 

“ Where is Kitty ? ” 

“ Why, at The Willow House ; ” again Lady Fanny 
laughed. It is her day there, and she flew over with 
my note, and I imagine is staying on, as a groom brought 
the answer.” Then the speaker approached her husband 
and laid a gentle hand upon his arm. “ I don’t care for 
this friendship, John. I don’t think it likely to do our 

child any good or bring her any happiness, but ” she 

stopped with a troubled look. 

“ It is not in our power to interfere with it,” pur- 
sued Lady Fanny more firmly. “ Kitty’s infatuation, 
for such it is, is only to be kept within bounds by yield- 
ing ” 

“ Yielding ? That’s a wretched policy ; stamp it out, 
say I.” 

Neither you nor I can do that. By a concession 
here and there, and by giving a certain amount of 
countenance to their intercourse, we can prevent any 
underhand doings ” 

“ Good Lord, you don’t say that ? You don’t mean 
a child of ours ” 

“ I don’t think you quite know Kitty, my dear ; ” and 
at the end of half an hour Kitty’s father knew a little 
more than he had ever done before. 

‘‘ If it had not been Olivia, it would have been some 
one else,” Lady Fanny further assured him. ‘‘ Enthusi- 
asm is in the blood at Kitty’s age and with her tempera- 
ment. Had she been a boy, she would have found vent 
for it in a career and plenty of hard work, but being a 
girl, and at the present moment rather an idle little girl 
who does not quite know what she wants, or how she 


A NEW DEPARTURE 


67 


feels, or what her life is going to be, Olivia as Kitty 
pictures her, fills the vacuum. It would be equally cruel 
and useless to 

‘‘What she wants is a husband!” burst forth the 
colonel ; but either his wife did not hear, or did not 
choose to hear. 

Meantime Olivia was deigning to bestow upon her 
visitor a little more attention than usual. Philip Am- 
brose was a personage, was worth meeting, was worth an 
effort — and Olivia, albeit she would not openly say as 
much, permitted it to be seen. 

“ Of course I would not have let father and mother 
bore you for an ordinary person,” protested Kitty, eagerly. 
“ I have saved you from being invited over and over 
again when we had only tiresome, stupid people; but 
when I heard them say that Professor Ambrose was 
simply to be wasted because there was no one about 
here fit to come and talk to him, I seized the oppor- 
tunity. They thought you wouldn’t come, but I knew 
better.” 

“ How did you orginally meet him ? ” inquired Olivia, 
letting the rest pass. 

“At Oxford. Don’t you remember we were there 
one winter, when father first retired ? And he knew 
some relations of ours, and — and — I really don’t re- 
member any more about it. I didn’t take much notice, 
because at that time I didn’t care about people being 
clever, and he had a long neck, and didn’t row in the 
‘ Eights,’ and wasn’t in the least interesting. But of 
course it was very silly, and now that I know better I 
feel quite excited over him.” 

“You little goose,” said Olivia, absently. Kitty’s 
exuberance was even sillier than Kitty’s indifference, and 
it rang a false note moreover. 

A single breath of disdain from herself would have 
5 * 


68 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


withered it up, and she felt half inclined to blow the 
breath, but thought better of it. 

‘‘ A man of mind like Professor Ambrose — do you 
call him ‘ Mr.’ or ‘ Professor ’ ? ” broke off Olivia suddenly. 

“ Father calls him * Ambrose,’ mother calls him 
‘ Mr.,’ and I ‘ Professor ’ — but mother told me not to say 
* Professor ’ ; she said it was only done by themselves, 
and among themselves, and that I must have caught it 
from the men’s wives down there. But, of course, if 
you say it ” and Kitty’s lips parted expectantly. 

“ I shall certainly say what Lady Fanny says. I go 
so little into society that I don’t pretend to know about 
such matters.” 

“ Oh, but you do know. You could never do any- 
thing wrong.” But here her divinity looked so distinctly 
bored that Kitty somewhat confusedly proceeded : ‘‘ Do 
go on. What was it you were going to say about ‘ A 
man of mind ’ ? I love to hear you talk, Olivia ; I 
wonder how you and Philip Ambrose will talk to each 
other ? ” 

“ So you now call him Philip Ambrose ? ” 

“Oughtn’t I to? Behind his back I thought I 
might, it sounds more — human.” 

“ Much more human. (‘ But I didn’t expect it from 
a little prig like you,’ mentally subjoined Olivia.) So 
you are wondering what we two will say to each other ? 
I suppose you will have your little ears on the stretch 
all the time ? ” 

“But you won’t have him at dinner. I’m afraid. 
You must have father, as there will be no other lady 
present.” 

“ If we are to be such a small party, there will be 
plenty of opportunity for conversation afterwards. Shall 
we sit outside after dinner? ” 

It was a hint, and as such Kitty caught at it. What 


A NEW DEPARTURE 


69 


could be more delightful than to sit out in the warm, 
delicious dusk of a July night, with Olivia enthroned in 
the midst of an admiring circle, she and Ambrose con- 
versing and all the rest listening, even her parents forced 
to acknowledge the queenship of her friend when even 
their distinguished guest would be paying her homage ? 

She was so full of it that she could talk of nothing 
else, and Olivia grew impatient and inattentive. Kitty, 
having said her first say could add nothing to it, and of 
what value were her conjectures and surmises? Kitty, 
it is true, had attained a kind of spurious importance 
for the moment, and her sympathy and aid on the occa- 
sion of the Rushingtons’ visit had not been without its 
effect ; but the memory of that fierce onslaught was 
fading, and the poor child was already slipping back to 
her original position when she produced Ambrose. 
Ambrose pulled her up a peg ; but now, if she would 
only let him alone, and either talk of other things, or, 
better still, not talk at all ! 

Olivia wanted to consider and analyse the situation. 
Once before the brilliant young man who had sprung so 
suddenly into fame, had visited the Thatchers, the simple 
Thatchers, the Thatchers who made no pretence of 
“ Culture ” or “ Intellectual life,” and all the neighbour- 
hood had been agitated, while Mrs. Seaford herself had 
gone so far as to own secretly that it was almost a pity 
she had so openly and repeatedly vented her dislike of 
country sociabilities. 

At that time she did not know Kitty as Kitty, and 
had no means of discovering whether or no others had 
been more fortunate than herself in meeting Ambrose, 
but by a few adroit questions she now learned that this 
had not been the case, and was pleased accordingly. 

“ We could not ask ordinary people, you know,” said 
Kitty, puffed with pride. “ Mother said that if Mr. 


70 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

Ambrose came to us expecting a few quiet days of rest 
and peace, it would be cruel to lionise him ; and I ex- 
pect he would have come and gone now as he did then, 
without any one’s having the good of him, if we could 
not have got you,” and there was a beam of gratitude 
and delight. 

All through the afternoon there were intermittent 
raptures. Every time the willing girl came back from 
the rose-garden to empty her basket — for she had been 
set to nip off the heavy heads of the roses while Olivia 
shook their petals free, and scattered them in the sun 
to dry for her bowls of pot-pourri — every time Kitty ap- 
peared with her freight, she had thought of something 
to say about Ambrose in the interim. 

She was not to know that the subject so engrossing 
to herself interrupted and disturbed her friend. Olivia 
had left it behind. She was too much out of the habit 
of thinking of anything that did not emanate from her- 
self to care about food for reflections tendered from 
without, and she was busy concocting a passage to be 
entered presently in her book, wherein the joys of inter- 
course with kindred spirits were to be set forth, while 
at the same time not overestimated. “ The first and 
greatest treasure of the soul is in itself, all others are 
subordinate to this,” she murmured. First and 
greatest” — or should it be “Chief and purest”? — or 
stop — and her long slender fingers paused with a half- 
shed rose between them, while her eyes wandered into 
vacancy. “ How lofty is the soul that needs no support 
from the souls of others. It may indeed descend at 
times to interchange — no, to barter — to barter its own 
conceptions for those of — of ” 

“ There, I think that’s all.” 

It was Kitty back again, and Kitty, bearing her final 
basketful, which she proceeded to empty on to the 


A NEW DEPARTURE 


71 

newspapers at Olivia’s side, where she also seated 
herself. 

“ You make a perfect picture sitting here with all 
the roses round you,” continued the girl, lovingly. “ I 
wonder Mr. Seaford doesn’t have you painted, Olivia. 
But I suppose,” tentatively, “ you would not care for 
the worry of it ? ” 

“ It would kill me,” said Olivia, succinctly. A good 
many things would kill her, as Kitty was beginning to 
know. What she did not know was that Olivia occa- 
sionally said to herself, “ It would kill me if I were never 
to be free from Kitty Thatcher.” That afternoon 
seemed in fine the longest poor Kitty’s goddess had ever 
known. 

When it ended, Willie had, as usual, the benefit of 
it. “ Oh, Willie, don’t. Don’t you begin about Mr. 
Ambrose too ; I have heard nothing else for hour after 
hour. Poor man, how he would have hated it ; for, of 
course, he groans under that sort of thing and is sur- 
feited by it wherever he goes.” 

“ Being made a fuss about, eh ? Well, you won’t, 
anyhow.” 

Of course she would not. Olivia smiled superior, 
and then somewhat resolutely changed the conversation, 
affecting an interest which she did not often exhibit in 
public affairs. If he did not mind, she would like to 
read the evening paper he had brought out, and she 
believed he was wanted in the stables. 

“ Coaching up for Ambrose ? ” suggested he, obedi- 
ently preparing to depart, and though she affected to 
take the words in jest, he had hit the mark. 

There was a good deal going on in the world, as 
Olivia was vaguely aware, and she did not feel suffici- 
ently au fait with the latest developments to risk their 
being made topics of conversation on the following 


72 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


evening without preparation. Not that she would be 
talkative and opinionative, oh, dear, no, — but she must be 
able to listen appreciatively, and drop here and there a 
telling word. The word need not be spoken to Ambrose, 
but he would catch it, he would address himself to her — 
presently he would see and hear no one but her. “ The 
respectful adoration of a great man — the subjugation of 
a great mind ” — all at once my heroine found herself 
formulating the above sentences and mentally trans- 
ferring them to The Peculiar Book with the zest of a 
discoverer diving into the bowels of a new mine — and 
Willie returning, found her scribbling for dear life on a 
scrap of paper hidden within the folds of the news- 
paper. “ I was only jotting down something I wished 
to remember,” quoth she, a shade confusedly. 

“ By the way, you never asked me what Ambrose was 
like, Olivia ? ” 

“ You ? Asked you ? ” Olivia looked up in genuine 
surprise. ‘‘Asked you what Mr. Ambrose was like?” 

“ I was going to tell you, but you cut me short.” 

His good-humoured face expressed sly exultation ; 
it was not often that in his own mind he “ Scored off” 
his wife. 

“ What were you going to tell me ? ” demanded she, 
quickly. 

“ What this great gun of yours and the Thatchers’ 
is like.” 

“ Mine and the Thatchers’, you absurd ” 

“All right; the Thatchers’ then. Anyhow, I’ve 
seen him, and can describe him.” 

“How? When?” 

“ Came down with him in the train. Knew who he 
was and offered him a light.” 

“ Then you talked to him ? ” 

“ Rather. The whole way down.” 


A NEW DEPARTURE 


73 


Olivia’s eyes grew round. “You might have said 
so;” but her accents of deep reproach elicited only a 
smile of triumph. 

“ Couldn’t till you gave me a chance. I did make 
a shot, and you shied at his name and sent me off to 
the stables. I thought you’d cool down presently.” 

“You thought you’d like to tease me. However, 
do go on now,” cried Olivia in an eager, natural tone 
that few people but her husband ever heard. “ Do 
speak ; do tell me about it. Tell me from beginning to 
end. How did you know it was he? How did you 
ever come to think of it ? I must say it was rather 
sharp of you, Willie. Sometimes you really can be 
rather sharp, you know.” 

“ Oh, when I’m let alone,” quoth he, modestly, “ I 
can find out a thing or two.” 

“ Was it his look ? Or did he say anything that 
gave you the clue ? I suppose you only made a 
guess ? ” 

“ Not I. I told you I knew.” 

“ But how? How could you know ? ” 

“Saw the name on his portmanteau as large as 
life.” 

“ Oh, Willie ! ” Her laugh rang out clear and sweet, 
the bell-like laugh that ought to have been heard so 
much oftener than it was. “ Oh, you fraud ! ” cried she, 
laughing again. 

“ That was the way of it.” His joyous bass chimed 
in gaily at his own expense. “ Not much science in 
that, eh ? But anyhow, it did the trick. * Oho ? ’ 
thought I, ‘ this will be nuts for Olivia ; ’ so as he was 
hunting in his pockets for his match-box, I offered mine, 
and in two minutes we were talking away.” 

“ He was smoking ? ” 

“ A rotten cigar. I could have given him one he 


74 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

would have appreciated, but thought Td better not. 
I’ll take some with me to-morrow evening, though. 
Thatcher’s not likely to have any worth a cent.” 

“What did you talk about?” demanded Olivia, 
waiving the question. 

“ Heaps of things. The chances of dissolution, and 
Balfour’s speech, and — you’ll find it all in to-night’s 
paper.” 

“ And what is he like, Willie ? ” 

“ Clever-looking chap ; great, big, bumpy forehead, 
and rather a small face beneath. Not much colour; 
seems no great fellow for exercise; says he can get 
on without it.” 

“ But that does not tell me what he is like. Is he 
dark or fair, tall or short, fat or thin ? ” 

“ You give me time and I’ll spit it all out — hollo ! 
I’m sorry; I promised never to say that again, didn’t 
I ? ” — and he put out his hand and patted hers. “ I 
don’t like the sound of it myself ; but you see. I’m with 
men all day ” 

“ If you were with the right sort of men ” 

“ But I’m not, and I can’t help it. If I could mix 
with the neighbours down here ” 

“Now, Willie!” 

“ I only say it would improve my manners, Olivia ; 
and for your sake I wish they were better.” The honest, 
truthful voice smote her with a sudden shame, and meet- 
ing with no response, he continued, apologetically : 
“ I don’t really like to be vulgar, you know; it is only 
that I can’t quite hit off the right thing, and when I 
think I have just about got the hang of it something 
new crops up and I am all at sea again. But it isn’t 
intentional. I wouldn’t vex you for the world, my 
darling — not for the world.” 

“ Oh, Willie.” 


A NEW DEPARTURE 


75 

“ Well, isn’t that right ? ” He strove to read her face 
wistfully. 

‘‘ You are too good, too humble, too dear altogether,” 
cried Olivia, impetuously. ‘‘ I can’t think how you can 
say such things even if you feel them. Who but you 

would ever own to a sense of inferiority ” and she 

broke off short, biting her lip. 

But why not ? I am inferior, why should I not 
be supposed to know it ? ” rejoined he, seriously. 
‘‘ Surely it’s better to know it than not? I often meet 
with fellows, commoner fellows than I, who haven’t a 
notion that there is anything amiss with them. They 
are as cocksure of themselves as if they were dukes. 
They would thrust their noses into any company. Now 
I wouldn’t. I say to myself, ‘ Look out ; if people 
want you they’ll let you know it,’ and, of course, if they 
don’t mind my being a bit rough and are friendly, it’s 
all right. But one thing I’ve jolly well made up my 
mind about, Olivia, I’ll never pretend to be what I’m 
not.” 

“ You are a thousand times too good for me.” 

In his surprise the pipe he was smoking fell from 
Willie Seaford’s fingers. He stooped to pick it up and 
turned a mazed countenance upon his wife. 

“ You are, you are,” reiterated she, tremulously. 
“ You never have a thought or a feeling that isn’t true 
and pure and kind. You don’t know what it is to be 
selfish or surly; you could not do a shabby trick or 
take a mean advantage to save your life; you are so 
noble in yourself that ” 

“ My dear child ! ” 

“ I will say it ; do you think I don’t know ? Do 
you think I don’t hate myself when I am cross and 
overbearing and make a slave of you — of you who never 
complain ” 


76 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

Complain ? By Jove, I like it. What am I for 
but to be your slave ? ” 

But Olivia was not to be intercepted. “Willie, 
when I hear you speak, it makes me feel so despicable, 
for I — I can’t feel as you do, and oh, how I wish I 
could ! ” 

“ You are different,” he was proceeding, after a 
moment’s consideration, but the next saw Olivia on 
her knees beside him. 

“Willie, oh, Willie, I have such bad moments; I 
take such a disgust at myself for being such a useless, 
selfish woman, so engrossed with my own little round — 
I long to do something, go somewhere, be anything but 
what I am ... I dream my life away. ... It is a 
delightful, beautiful life — but,” she raised the face which 

had been half-hidden between her hands, “ but ” she 

whispered and looked to him for the rest. 

“ It does not satisfy you ? ” said he, softly. 

“ It ought not to.” 

“And yet you don’t feel you can rouse yourself? ” 

“ I could rouse myself, indeed I could, if there were 
anything worth being roused for within my reach. 
Sometimes I feel as if I could rush to the ends of the 
earth if any work for me to do lay there. I could go 
through fire and water to accomplish it. When I read 
of great deeds, but I can’t explain to you, Willie” — all 
at once there crept into the speaker’s voice the old faint 
inflection of superiority — “ because, although you are so 
much better and nobler than I, and though I do admire 
and love you for it, still you haven’t aspirations, and I 
don’t suppose you know what they are. You are quite 
the best and dearest of husbands, and I am your tire- 
some, troublesome, whimsical, fanciful, but not quite 
commonplace wife ; ” and as he raised her in his arms 
and laid her on his broad breast, pouring into her ear 


A NEW DEPARTURE 


77 


the tender adulation which was so much distilled poison, 
and to which, alas ! it was but too well accustomed, the 
moment that might have been so great a one in Olivia’s 
life fell barrenly away from it. 

She even experienced a novel flow of spirits that 
evening, for, after all, youth is youth, and though my 
heroine had partly, if unconsciously, stamped out her 
own youth, at five-and-twenty the sap is still there. 

She found herself thinking a good deal about the 
Thatchers’ dinner-party, wondering how it would be 
done, picturing her own arrival on the scene, and in 
especial the effect it would produce on Philip Ambrose. 
He would have been told about her, of course. He 
would have been given conflicting descriptions such as 
must inevitably excite curiosity, especially since he had 
already made Willie’s acquaintance and found him 
what he was. Evidently he had liked Willie, but that 
was not to say that he would expect Willie’s wife to be 
anything out of the common. It would only be when 
the Thatchers gave in their several opinions that their 
guest would feel puzzled and interested — stop, would 
he, just at first, be interested ? She decided to make an 
immediate impression. 

“ What are you going to wear? ” demanded Willie 
suddenly, and it chanced that his wife was asking her- 
self the same question, though not for the first time. 

Very woman as she was, Olivia’s thoughts had flown 
to her dress immediately on accepting Lady Fanny’s 
invitation, and though Kitty’s artless inquiries had been 
loftily smiled down, no sooner had her friend found her- 
self alone than she had retired to her bedroom and 
opened the lower drawers of her wardrobe. 

Here, immersed in rustling paper depths, lay various 
robes of rich material and exquisite design ; not, indeed, 
made according to the latest fashion, for some were 


;8 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

several seasons old, but so shaped and draped that their 
fanciful elegance belonged to no period, and appeared 
as appropriate to the present as the past. A gown on 
Olivia seemed a part of herself ; it participated in its 
wearer’s individuality. 

But she had two favourites, and could not decide 
between them. A moonlight satin, taking different 
hues with every varying light, was dear to her heart, 
but unluckily the bodice fitted closely and was hot in 
hot weather. Also the train was heavy, for she had 
chosen a rich satin. 

It had, in fact, been her Court dress — for Olivia, 
though you might not think it, had been to Court, and 
that not only on the occasion of her marriage. She 
had taken a sudden resolution to attend a Drawing-room 
two summers before, and left her card at the Palace 
afterwards ; but as no notice was taken of this very 
proper proceeding, the moonlight satin, which had been 
made ready for either State ball or concert, was relegated 
to the wardrobe drawer. 

Should she wear it at the Thatchers or not ? Of 
course it was rather magnificent ; but, again, the mauve 
gauze, with its bunches of heliotrope and ruffles of 
filmy lace, was even more glowing and shining — even 
more likely to throw into the shade the toilettes of 
Lady Fanny and her daughter. 

“ But I must wear one or other, I have nothing 
else,” protested Olivia to an imaginary accuser. ‘‘I 
can’t help it, if I have not clothes for every occasion,” 
and she shook out the gauze. 

Yet her heart inclined to the satin, and if only 
Willie would hold his tongue about it, and not exclaim 
“ By Jove ! ” and stare at her with enraptured eyes, the 
satin it should be. She must warn Willie beforehand. 

Then there had intervened the episode which for 


A NEW DEPARTURE 


79 


want of a better term may be called the self-abnegation 
episode. Anything was good enough for the Thatchers’ 
quiet little house and simple gathering. Her every 
evening tea-gown, or J;he black net that Willie hated — 
Lady Fanny would probably wear just such another 
black net, thus confirming the suitability of her guest’s 
choice. 

But then, again, why should Olivia Seaford descend 
to Lady Fanny Thatcher’s dress level ? Olivia, clad 
like any other woman in the room, was Olivia lowered 
in her own eyes. Lady Fanny, moreover, had the taste 
of an owl ; and besides was an older woman, and a poor 
woman, and had no looks at the best of times. 

“What are you going to wear? ” quoth Willie at 
this point. 

In a moment Olivia had decided. “ My grey satin,” 
said she, indifferently. The satin was hardly “ Grey,” 
but we all know how a word can be of use on occasion. 

“ Grey satin ? ” mused he. He could not remember 
any such garment. 

“Why, of course,” retorted Olivia, impatiently. 
“ Don’t be stupid, Willie. You know the gown as well 
as I do. I have not so many that ” 

“ Good Lord, you don’t mean your Court dress ! ” 

“ And why not my Court dress ? It is always civil 
to appear decent at one’s friends’ houses, however small 
the party.” 

“ But won’t they think — won’t it seem as if you ex- 
pected ” he paused inquiringly. 

“ Since I know exactly what to expect, there can’t 
be any mistake about it,” rejoined Olivia, with decision. 
“ If I choose to look a little nice ” 

“ I say! Look a little nice I But you know best. 
You’ll simply knock the spots out of everybody there, 
but you’d do that whatever you wore. It’s a stunner, 


8o THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


that ‘ Grey satin ’ ” — and he laughed and folded his 
hands in his accustomed attitude when pleased and 
entertained. Oh, Vve no objection, you may take 
your oath on that, my dear ; no man objects to seeing 
his wife the belle of the evening.” 

“ Dear Willie, you are so very old-fashioned.” But 
Olivia was not annoyed, and presently rose from his 
side and went off to water her geraniums with a 
tranquil air that conveyed entire absorption in her 
pleasant task. 

How was a mere man to divine that even as she 
sprayed the cool water about, her brain was busily at 
work respecting a matter as to which no one would have 
supposed Olivia Seaford would ever have bestowed a 
thought ? Olivia had beautiful, abundant hair, and a 
clever maid who understood how to embellish her 
mistress’s face by its luxuriousness. Olivia did not like 
when Kitty stroked and patted it, as Kitty had a 
foolish little habit of doing, with hot and timid fingers ; 
but when the adoring girl confined her admiration to 
words 

“ Oh, you should praise Laurette,” her friend would 
rejoin good-humouredly enough. “ Laurette is a good 
brusher, and I let her do what she likes with my hair, 
as long as she does not mind giving it a good brushing 
first.” 

“ Mayn’t I, oh, mayn’t I brush your hair ? ” pleaded 
Kitty once, and was humoured — but it proved a martyr- 
dom to Olivia. 

Laurette knew exactly how to divide and separate 
the thick, silken tresses, how to brush with slow, 
monotonous, patient hand from their roots to their tips ; 
Laurette never made nor found a knot; Olivia used 
to read and often fall half asleep beneath the soothing 
process. 


A NEW DEPARTURE 


8i 


But Kitty, talking, praising, wondering, holding out 
the long strands to admire their colour and texture; 
anon plunging into their midst with crude vehemence 
that created an immediate tangle — Kitty, emboldened 
to strike the tender scalp which at first she had merely 
tickled — and oh ! how obnoxious was that weak tickle 
— was at once ineffectual and rough, feeble and violent. 

‘‘ I don’t think you quite understand it, dear,” said 
Olivia, at last. “ I should do no better. It is only 
some people who have the knack” — and considering 
what torments she had undergone, it was really credit- 
able to her that she both looked and spoke gently — but 
the experiment was never repeated. 

She was now debating a profound point with herself. 
Should she, or should she not, wear any head ornament 
on the following evening? Laurette would of course 
cry out for the diamonds — a fine set of stars which had 
been made for Mrs. Seaford on her marriage, and which 
had seldom seen the light since — but though she had 
stood out for her Court gown, Olivia hesitated before 
the added splendour of her diamonds. 

And yet she longed to wear them. She was con- 
scious that they became her well. She allowed herself 
to open their case. 

And then she took out one and laid it against her 
hair. In another minute she had them all inserted, 
shining and sparkling in the evening light, and— -we 
can guess how it ended. 

‘‘Yes, you can put in the diamond stars,” said 
Laurette’s mistress on the following evening, and 
Laurette, wise in her generation, obeyed without a 
word. No one understood Olivia better than her maid. 

But when ready to descend, the former cast a final 
glance at herself in the glass, and there was a moment 
of hesitation which Laurette, bustling about the room, 

6 


82 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


affected not to see. Albeit a sober-minded girl, the 
very antithesis of the usual French abigail, Laurette 
had the instincts of her race and class ; she knew that 
her lady was overdressed, and trembled lest Olivia 
should at the eleventh hour perceive this also. With 
her it was Madame goes so seldom into company that 
when she does, it goes that she makes her presence felt. 
Madame makes of this little party an occasion. She 
must be talked about, remembered; she must make 
her triumph — voila I ” — and, as we say, the honest girl 
shook in her shoes lest Madame should suddenly see 
the matter in a new light. 

A dubious expression had stolen over Madame’s 
face ; what might this not portend ? Helas ! if Madame, 
gazing at that so enchanting image in the mirror, 
foolishly gave way to stupid English prejudices — with a 
start of joy, Laurette heard the roll of wheels beneath 
the bedroom window. 

She peeped out ; yes, the carriage was there. 

“ Madame’s cloak,” said Laurette demurely, and 
whipped a long silk cloak around her mistress with brisk 
confidence — a confidence ready to be startled into a cry 
of dismay at the first breath of protest. 

Nor would Laurette meet the gaze turned towards 
her with a kind of dumb appeal that had in it something 
even of pathos. Madame was obviously troubled in 
spirit. Were she to say, ‘‘ Laurette, tell me truly, is 
my appearance convenable ? ” what could poor Laurette 
reply ? It would be horrible, frightful, to be called upon 
to destroy the so exquisite creation which, perfect down 
to the minutest details, stood before her; or again it 
would be cruel — certainly it would be cruel to wound 
Madame’s repose in herself, that repose which was so 
essential to her appearance, even if no alteration were 
made. 


A NEW DEPARTURE 83 

Wherefore the easiest, nay, the only way was not to 
see those perturbed eyes. 

Ah! how beautiful they were, how large and soft. 
As Olivia sat beneath Laurette’s hands during the 
previous prolonged hair-dressing, the latter had whis- 
pered her admiration to herself — but to be moved by 
their expression to undo her most felicitous handiwork, 
despoil their lovely owner of half her charms ? — bah I — 
what folly ! Laurette’s little hard hand shook with im- 
patience as she tendered fan and gloves, fearful to the 
last of what her mistress would do — but Olivia went 
slowly downstairs. 

It was inevitable that Willie should notice the dia- 
monds ; and his ‘‘ Let’s have a look at you,” and com- 
plete and unalloyed exultation in the look, were not 
without their effect ; nevertheless there was a slight 
tremor in his wife’s bosom and a subdued expression 
on her countenance as she entered the Thatchers’ 
domain. 

She was feeling ashamed of herself. The feeling 
had begun almost at the outset of her desire to wear the 
satin dress, and she had struggled with and overcome 
it ; then her husband had had to be converted ; and 
finally she had been cognisant of Laurette’s surprise, 
thinly veiled by prompt obedience. 

To none of them would she yield, but to herself she 
was now saying, “Why did I do it — how could I do 
it?” with ever-increasing vexation and self-disgust, and 
perhaps it was at this hour and consequent on this 
trivial humiliation that the first glimmerings of the 
awful solitude she herself had created round herself 
dawned upon Olivia Seaford. 

She entered the circle awaiting her reception with a 
blush upon her cheek. Her lip quivered as she replied 
to their greetings. Something seemed to rise in her 
6 * 


84 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

throat, and she felt all at once so tired that it was a 
relief to sit down. 

As predicted, Lady Fanny Thatcher was arrayed in 
sober, matronly black, broadly tuckered round the neck 
and shoulders where her ladyship was inclined to embon- 
point. A black velvet ribbon fastened by a pearl brooch 
confined her throat, and in front of her bodice there was 
another and handsomer brooch, whose fine stones af- 
forded a sort of vague consolation to Olivia, at which 
she would have laughed at another time. 

Kitty was in a little schoolgirl frock of simple white 
— and the rest of the party were men, in the usual black 
coats. 

The regal apparition which swept into their midst 
was more alone than Olivia had ever felt herself before. 


CHAPTER V. 


“LEANING FORWARD WITH HIS NOSE ON HER LAP!” 

There was nothing to add to her embarrassment. Her 
hosts were much too well-bred to let any sign of their 
inward surprise escape, and the party readjusted itself 
and Mr. Ambrose was presented with quiet, informal 
ease and friendliness. 

Willie was, of course, talking away at once. Willie, 
however, was at his best — simple, cheerful, unpretending, 
with plenty to say on ordinary topics, yet listening, too, 
when others spoke. He had a native politeness which 
made it natural for him to think everybody’s opinion as 
good or better than his own, and his training under 
Olivia rendered the latter attitude the more familiar of 
the two, — so that, whatever misdemeanours he had to 
be corrected for at home, his wife had nothing to fear 
for him abroad. 

She had only herself to think about ; nor did she even 
have that long ; dinner was announced five minutes after 
the Seafords’ arrival, and one pleasant shady room was 
exchanged for another and all seated round a well set- 
out table ere Olivia had recovered sufficiently from her 
confusion to take stock of her surroundings. 

She then found herself placed between Colonel 
Thatcher and Philip Ambrose, the latter having had to be 
put on the wrong side of his hostess to meet the exigen- 
cies of the case. He had taken in Kitty, but he could 
not sit by her. 


85 


86 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


The colonel, however, had been exhorted not to 
engross his partner, and had roared at the notion. 

“ There is nothing to laugh at,” cried Kitty, indig- 
nantly. “ Of course you can’t talk to me, and if you 

start one of your favourite topics with Olivia ” but 

here her father shouted afresh. 

Start one of my topics with that woman ! ” 

“ My dear — my dear! ” adjured Lady Fanny. 

“ Pray, miss, what are my topics?” demanded the 
old soldier, composing himself. “ Come now, let’s 
hear ! Tell me in order that I may keep off ’em, for 
upon my word, I wouldn’t start a topic with Madam 
Seaford if I knew it.” 

Whereupoa Kitty muttered something about “ Mili- 
tary matters,” at which even her mother smiled, but the 
colonel drew himself up stiffly, reddening a little. 

And he would not speak to his daughter, but at her. 

I don’t think I am in the habit of forcing shop-talk 
upon any one, whatever that little minx may choose to 
say for the sake of being impertinent. As for thrust- 
ing it upon ladies — and upon this one in particular, 
who doesn’t know a horse from a cow, or a bullock- 
waggon from a go-cart — I shan’t enlighten her, I pro- 
mise you.” 

“ Father, I do want you to be nice to Olivia.” 

“Eh?” said he, starting. But such an anxious 
little face was turned upon him, and Kitty took so 
patiently a few more disparaging remarks which he was 
conscious must be hard to bear, that eventually he 
patted her shoulder and assured her his bark was worse 
than his bite. 

“ I hope I know how to behave in my own house, 
child ; and when I’ve done the civil. I’ll hand the lady 
over to Ambrose with all the pleasure in life. If he can 
make anything of Madam Olivia, he’s heartily welcome ; ” 


LEANING FORWARD 87 

and shrugging his shoulders the speaker closed the 
controversy. 

To his horror he now found himself careering along 
in full blast on one of the very tabooed ^‘Topics,” with 
Olivia’s sympathetic eyes luring him on. Olivia, shaken 
out of her usual serenity and unable to regain it, sat 
the picture of meek attention, her bent neck a sight in 
itself. 

An intelligent listener is a delightful object; and 
when that listener puts a pertinent question and hangs 
upon the answer with parted lips, what mortal can resist 
the snare ? 

“ No, no, my dear,” said the colonel, — and was in the 
act of massing salt-cellars and spoons to form a fortifica- 
tion, when, looking round for an extra bastion, he met 
Kitty’s look. 

“ I think I understand,” said Olivia, thoughtfully — 
but though her own jewelled fingers played with the 
spoons and she showed, as her instructor subsequently 
owned, “ Wonderful quickness in picking up the idea of 
the thing,” his lesson came to an abrupt end. 

“ Here’s Kitty thinks I’m boring you to death.” 

“ Bored with this ? ” exclaimed Mrs. Seaford with 
animation. “ It is seldom, indeed, I hear anything half 
so interesting ” — and as she spoke Philip Ambrose looked 
round. 

Shall we say that she meant him to look, meant him 
to hear the tones of a peculiarly sweet and musical voice, 
to note a fair and slender hand upon the table^ and fire 
his curiosity respecting the owner of these charms? 
Perhaps she did. While affecting that absorption which 
subjugated her guileless host, it is permissible to suspect 
that a presence on Olivia’s other side was not wholly 
lost sight of, and that she was now beginning to feel the 
time had come for drawing Ambrose within her influence 


88 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


“I was just showing Mrs. Seaford a plan of cam- 
paign,” began the colonel, addressing him, and stoutly 
ignoring an irrelevant remark on his other side designed 
to remind him of his contract. “ It is not often that I 

talk shop, but ” and he glanced at his whilom auditor 

as though to say, ‘‘ Could any man refrain under such 
provocation ? ” 

And now, if father will only be quiet and let them 
talk,” cried Kitty to herself, and a warning foot pressed 
his beneath the table. 

Tchick, what is it ? What d’ye want ? Nonsense ! 
Ridiculous ! ” muttered he, but her object was attained, 
Ambrose had addressed Olivia, and Olivia’s face was 
turned towards Ambrose. 

The great moment had arrived, and it was one for 
which each had been consciously longing ; Olivia be- 
cause it was for this she had come, Ambrose from a 
complexity of motives into which we need not at present 
initiate our readers. SuiBce it to say that the equable 
flow of Lady Fanny’s conversation had fallen upon ears 
not precisely deaf, but distracted and impatient, that he 
had felt he could get that at any time, and that there 
was a woman on his other side the like of whom he had 
never been in company with before. 

The Oxford ladies were dowdy and talked Oxford : 
talk diluted, it is true, in feminine fashion, but still in 
essentials the same as that which fell from the lips of 
their husbands and fathers, and of it Philip Ambrose 
was sick to death. 

Hitherto it had enveloped him — he now felt suffo- 
cated him. He had Arrived,” he needed it no longer. 

As a very young man no one had been more anxious 
to assimilate himself with the traditions, associations, 
habits and customs of the place than the new under- 
graduate of Baliol ; he was ** Varsity ” to the backbone ; 


LEANING FORWARD 89 

he had or appeared to have no other existence than that 
led in college and quadrangle. 

During vacations he disappeared with reading 
parties, or in later years by himself, — but if he ever went 
home, if he joined any family circles, or had invitations 
to relations’ houses, he never said so. It was under- 
stood that scientific research was his mania, and scientific 
research on the part of a young aspirant forms a very 
effectual barricade against the clamour of his fellows for 
his society. 

Then all at once the name of Philip Ambrose began 
to be whispered. He was a marked man, a coming man ; 
eyes were turned upon him ; he was pointed out in High 
Street and Broad Street ; the “ Heads ” slowed their 
pace when his figure was discerned approaching, and, 
most potent sign of all, instead of accosting the young 
don, they, the seniors, waited to be accosted. If Ambrose 
hurried past with a mere salute, Provost and Principal 
understood that his meditations were of national value 
and not to be interrupted even by their august selves. 

Finally the young professor blossomed forth as 
famous far beyond University walls and boundaries. 
His knotted brow, deep-set eyes, and compressed lips 
were recognisable in illustrated papers and shop-win- 
dows. Booksellers offered his books — did not wait to 
be asked for them. Pioneers of thought discussed his 
ideas; what Ambrose of Oxford had to say on such 
and such a subject was of importance, and was said for 
him by men infinitely greater than himself. And when 
savants from all quarters of the globe pronounced that 
a new star, had arisen in their midst, the scholarly 
recluse felt that the hour had come when, having so 
much, he could have something more — he yearned for 
that feminine intercourse and sympathy which hitherto 
he had denied himself. 


90 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

Hence his visit to the Thatchers. 

The Thatchers were simple people, but simple people 
with pleasant manners and refined tastes afford a seda- 
tive to brain fag second to no other. For twenty-four 
hours Ambrose enjoyed and profited by it. 

He was pleased with everything and every one. 

The little green domain seemed a veritable Paradise, 
and Kitty, in her white frock, with her pretty ways and 
joyous chatter, the most charming Kitty imaginable. 

He followed her about, letting himself drift where 
she drifted, taking part in her rural occupations, and 
growing gayer and younger through each hour of her 
companionship. 

He was at pains to do away with the awe with which 
the young girl was inspired by his name and fame. He 
laughed it aside ; presently he was half annoyed by it. 
What sort of an old bear did she think she had got hold 
of ? She demurred to the title of “ Bear It was his 
age then ? Come, how old did she take him for ? 
Kitty, blushing, declined to say ; but, pressed, owned 
that she supposed he might be — and stopped. 

“ I am eight-and-thirty,” said he ; “ does that seem 
so very terrible to you ? ” 

It did, but of course she protested, and a merry war 
ensued. 

When Kitty and the younger ones got up a game of 
croquet-golf, and their father appeared on another part 
of the lawn with bowls in his hands, Ambrose would 
have none of the bowls. “ They are for the old codgers,” 
whispered he, with a sly look, and as a couple of old 
codgers who had been summoned to form a quartet, ap- 
peared at the moment the recusant left them “ To fight 
it out ” and boldly enrolled himself in the other ranks. 

So that by the end of the afternoon there was no 
longer any tremor on the part of boys and girls left 


LEANING FORWARD 


91 


alone with their celebrity; he was such a shocking 
player and had to be so often instructed and rebuked 
that they insensibly lost sight of his formidable person- 
ality, and saw only the worst shot on whosever side he 
was, the feeble opponent who could be easily disposed 
of, or the lame adherent who had to be helped along ; 
with one accord they made excuses for Him, and loudly 
applauded when luck redeemed the blunders made by 
ignorance and awkwardness. 

All were late in going to dress for dinner, and Am- 
brose was conscious of wishing that nobody were com- 
ing for dinner. 

He was so well content with things as they were 
that any addition to the circle was a nuisance, and he 
almost told Kitty it was a nuisance. His manner, in- 
deed, did so tell her, whereat she laughed to herself, 
the extra gaiety of her spirits being due to the very 
prospect he deprecated, a prospect which had rarely 
if ever been accorded Olivia’s nearest neighbours before. 

Certainly Olivia had never dined at the Thatchers’ 
since Kitty’s dehut ; and there was an excitement about 
her coming — apart from her coming to meet the great 
Professor Ambrose, whom Kitty could now assure her 
was not only Great ” but “ Nice ” — that nothing could 
allay. 

Kitty was down early, looking round, seeing that all 
was right. Her toilette had been hurried through that 
she might have a few moments for this survey — for see- 
ing that the windows stood open as at The Willow House, 
also that her mother’s sofa cushions were arranged as 
Olivia arranged hers. Since the Seafords had the latest 
books and magazines lying about, such as could be 
mustered by Olivia’s zealous worshipper were made the 
most of in like fashion. She stood here, she stood there, 
studying effects ; she pushed back a footstool that pro- 


92 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

truded and swept a clear path for her divinity ; she 
turned the flowerpots so that their handsomest blooms 
should at once strike Olivia’s eye ; Lady Fanny came 
down to find her workbox on her own little table by her 
own corner of the sofa above mentioned, in the act of 
being carried away. 

“ Because you won’t do any work to-night,” argued 
Kitty, and the workbox, to her mother’s secret amuse- 
ment, disappeared. 

Ambrose, when he essayed to take up anew the 
place he had won with his little partner of the afternoon, 
found Kitty absent and unresponsive, whereat he drew 
into his shell at once. He was so unaccustomed to 
being met by a distrait demeanour and curt rejoinders 
that he hardly knew how to take such. He himself was 
feeling warm and genial. Did Miss Kitty mean to 
make him feel less so? Had she divined — but really 
there was nothing to divine. He was himself barely 
conscious of the pleasurable sensation inspired by her 
presence ; he was not in any way dominated by it — it 
was rather early in the day for that ; he experienced a 
sense of affront, and turned to Lady Fanny resolutely. 

Then appeared Olivia Seaford blotting out every one 
in the room, and Ambrose’s eyes started from his head. 
Heavens ! what an exquisite creature ! What beauty, 
what grace, what dazzling, radiating splendour ! 

It was the diamonds and the dress that did it, of 
course — ^yet stay, that is hardly fair to Olivia. She had 
a face whose charms could be enhanced and could not 
be debased by adornment. Some faces when purposely 
set alight are irresistible — but that is not to say that all 
the credit belongs to the setting. And then Olivia was 
not quite her serene self at the moment, and this also, 
strange to say, rather added to than took from her 
appearance. She could hardly be called agitated, but 


LEANING FORWARD 


93 


she was certainly not calm. She did not exactly beseech 
pity, but there was no air of demanding applause. 
Never in her life had she appeared to greater advantage, 
and trivial as was its source the effect was certain. 

For a while, as we know, conventional demands had 
to be submitted to, and neither of the guests of the 
evening — for they shared the honours between them — 
could bestow attention on the other, but once the 
supreme moment arrived, all else went down before 
it. 

“ And donH mind us, do go on hatting him to your- 
self,” adjured Kitty, following Olivia out on to the lawn 
where chairs were grouped and coffee handed. “ Fm 
only keeping his chair till he comes,” whispered she, 
having inserted her friend into one of two carefully 
placed apart. “ You do like him, don’t you ? And he 
— oh, any one can see what he thinks of you,” and on 
the approach of the gentleman presently, she bounced 
up and looked so meaningly at Ambrose that Olivia 
nearly rose also. Kitty’s methods were too crude. It 
was not till Ambrose unhesitatingly availed himself of 
them that she was forgiven — and forgotten. 

But who could think of Kitty then ? Hour after 
hour passed, the light waned, and some of the party 
went indoors, but still the low duologue went on. 

“Ton my soul,” muttered Colonel Thatcher, and 
stood irresolute twirling his moustache. “ She’s got 
her claws into him and no mistake. If some one doesn’t 
interfere they’ll sit there all night ; ” but though he 
made a step or two forward, so unconscious of his 
proximity were the delinquents that he had to pass on 
as though he had never had any other intention. “ I 
can’t, and if Seaford won’t, there’s nothing to be done,” 
he muttered as he went. 

Lady Fanny fared no better. “ My dear Olivia, are 


94 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

you not afraid of the night air ? ” — but Olivia was not in 
the least afraid of the night air. 

“ I am often out as late as this,” averred she, with 
perfect veracity, “ it is my favourite hour.” 

‘‘ Shall Kitty fetch a shawl to throw over your 
shoulders, my dear ? ” 

‘'Thanks. I am not in the least cold, only just get- 
ting a little cool, and it is so delightful here.” Olivia 
looked up from her low seat, and spoke with an anima- 
tion that ought to have gratified a hostess, but she did 
not offer to move, and the elder lady, who was standing 
over her with the express intention of bringing the scene 
to a close, was forced to retreat discomfited. 

“ Can’t you get her to budge either ? ” growled the 
colonel, who had watched from afar. “ What did she 
say?” 

“ I was afraid Olivia might find the night air 
chilly.” 

“ Tut — nonsense — you went to stop her making a 
fool of herself. What did she say? ” 

“ She seemed to think she was content to remain 
where she was.” A slight vexation which she could 
not repress manifested itself in the speaker’s accents ; 
she was conscious of having done her best to uproot 
Olivia and of having been foiled by a will stronger than 
her own. 

“ Cart-ropes wouldn’t drag her from that chair, eh ? ” 

“ Oh, my dear, cart-ropes ! ” Lady Fanny laughed 
deprecatingly. 

“Bet they wouldn’t. You’re no match for that 
sorceress.” 

“ Really, you take the matter too seriously, John. 
I only thought that our party was a little broken up, 
but if Olivia prefers it so ” 

“ She prefers turning Ambrose’s head to behaving 


LEANING FORWARD 


95 

like any decent-mannered woman. I wonder her hus- 
band allows it.” 

“ He knows it is only her way. Olivia is so ac- 
customed to consulting her inclinations without regard 
to appearances ” 

‘‘ That she plays the very deuce with appearances 
once she gets the chance. What in thunder can she 
and he find to say to each other all this time — that is, 
if it is not downright flirtation, as you won’t want to 
allow it is.” 

“They are probably talking about books,” said 
Lady Fanny feebly. 

“ Books ? Not a bit of it. It’s ‘ Souls ’ and ‘Affinities ’ 
and all that tommy-rot that lands married women in 
the divorce courts.” 

“John!” 

“ Aye, you may say * John ’ ; you may think I don’t 
know what I’m talking about, but I do. I have seen 
enough of that kind of thing in India, and can scent 
the beginnings of it.” 

“ Dear John, you really ought not to ” 

“ I tell you I don’t like the way Seaford is treated. 
He is as good a fellow as ever lived, but he is too easy 
with her ; he has not got his hand on the bridle as he 
ought to have with a wife like his. He knows now 
that he has got to keep out of the way and not spoil her 
game. He knows he’d catch it if he interfered ; so he 
goes off with the young ones and affects not to see. 
It’s as plain as a pikestaff, and if I had known there 
was going to be such an exhibition as that,” pointing 
to the dimly-outlined figures still stationary on the 
lawn, “I’m hanged if I would have allowed either of 
them the opportunity for it on my premises.” 

“ Come, come, you make too much of it, my dear, 
indeed you do. Olivia is a little carried out of herself 


96 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

by the unusual pleasure of meeting with a kindred spirit, 
one who, I daresay, can understand and respond to her 
peculiar cast of mind. You must own that she does 
not often enjoy this advantage ; we are a humdrum 
set of folks in this neighbourhood, and Kitty tells me 
that Olivia feels herself thrown away.” 

“She says that to Kitty? Devil take her impu- 
dence ! ” 

“ I never said she said so, I said she felt it. And 
indeed it is more than likely that the feeling itself is 
involuntary. When a person has a refined, poetical, 
imaginative temperament, and feeds it by leading the 
life apart Olivia Seaford leads, it is inevitable that she 
should unconsciously come to regard others with whom 
she believes herself to have nothing in common, as 
uninteresting and unworthy of notice. If one could 
only prevail on her to think a little less about her- 
self ” 

“ Which is just what you’ll never do. And as for 
Ambrose, like an ass, he is ministering to her vanity. 
His attention and flattery — Look at him now, leaning 
forward with his nose almost on her lap ! No doubt he 
is telling her that she is an angel on a mudheap. 
What ? I shouldn’t be a bit surprised. And sneering at 
good old Willie for a money-grubber. If you can 
defend that ” 

“ I am quite sure Mr. Ambrose is talking properly 
and agreeably, as he always does. My dear John, do 
think how absurdly unlikely it is that he would make 
any animadversions on a husband to a wife whose 
acquaintance he has only just made, even supposing 
he ever did such a thing at any time.” 

“ If she leads him on ” 

“ And would Olivia do so ? Has she ever done so ? 
Be just to her, John. No human being, not even Kitty, 


LEANING FORWARD 


97 


who appears to have attained more insight than the rest 
of us into the Seaford family life, has ever heard Olivia 
belittle her husband. I own that she is behaving a little 
foolishly to-night, and were she a daughter of mine I 
should give her a hint on the subject, but as for suppos- 
ing that she would stoop to any confidences derogatory 
to her dignity ” 

“Oh, aye, she stands upon her dignity, I daresay; 
but mark my words, it’s the women who set themselves 
upon pedestals and fence round the pedestals to boot, who 
come the worst croppers. Hullo ! ” as voices and figures 
suddenly emerged from the darkness at his elbow — 
“ Hullo! where have you been all this time? ” 

At the same moment another voice was heard from 
the opposite direction : — 

“ Please ask for the carriage, Willie.” 

And Olivia’s tones were as clear and soft and un- 
conscious as those of a child. The edge of her satin 
dress was dank with dew, but the warm colour stood in 
her cheek and her eyes glowed. “ What a delightful 
evening I ” exclaimed she, looking from one to the other. 
“ The scent of your laurel flowers. Lady Fanny, made 
me wish that we had old laurels in our garden too. 
Ours are too young to blossom.” 

“A delightful evening indeed.” It was Ambrose 
who took up the note with a fervour that was not lost 
on one at least of his audience. 

“ Confound the fellow! ” muttered the colonel under 
his breath. 

“ We are deeply indebted to you for it,” and Ambrose, 
too, instinctively addressed Lady Fanny, who stood mildly 
recipient. “It is seldom one has the chance — at least, 
it is seldom I have the chance — of enjoying a July even- 
ing in such perfection. Beauty and fragrance every- 
where. Even the bats and the moths — even the fat 
7 


98 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

toads — even one rascally mole that played havoc with 
your grass, colonel,” laughing and nodding to him, ‘‘all 
seemed to belong to an enchanted world.” 

“ Humph ! ” said Colonel Thatcher, turning on his 
heel. 

But Kitty was squeezing Olivia’s hand ecstatically. 
It was she who had arranged the hunt for the missing 
croquet ball — indeed, to confess the whole truth, it was 
she who had hidden the ball in the thickest tangle of 
the flower beds in order to leave the field clear for her 
friend. Olivia had said something about the “ Usual 
stiff circle ” which formed on occasions like the present, 
and the phrase was all that was needed. 

The ball had been found too soon, despite every 
cunning effort, and Eddy’s joyful cry of triumph made 
another suggestion necessary : “ Let us see if there are 
any wild strawberries out ? ” was Kitty’s next, and away 
went the whole troop, headed by kindly Willie Seaford, 
into the depths of the wood. And here it was, “ Do let 
us climb to the summer-house,” and at the summer- 
house, “ Let us play a game,” and by one ruse or other 
a good hour and a half was secured to Olivia sitting on 
the lawn. 

Nor did her valiant little champion stop there. 
“ We have had such fun,” cried she, striking in now 
with gleesome vigour, “we really couldn’t come back 
before. You didn’t mind, did you, mother?” — once 
more Lady Fanny appeared the approachable person of 
the group — “ we had ‘ Rounders ’ ; and we knew you 
wouldn’t mind Eddy’s staying up for once, because he 
does so love ‘ Rounders ’ ! ” 

“And I found the ball,” added Eddy, hugging it. 

The carriage was announced, and the host returned ; 
he was not going to let any other arm than his be offered 
to conduct Mrs. Seaford to the door. 


LEANING FORWARD 


99 

She dropped her glove, however, and it was tendered 
by some one close behind. 

“ That was done on purpose,” said Colonel Thatcher 
to himself — but he was wrong. Olivia did not resort to 
such methods. She had already invited Mr. Ambrose 
to call on her, and the hour of his doing so had been 
fixed upon between them. 

And Olivia was bright and loquacious during the 
homeward drive, not silent as the indignant colonel 
pictured her. 

She would not have the windows nor even one 
window closed, the night air was still so warm, so delici- 
ous. Her cloak was open, and presently slipped from her 
shoulders. Willie felt something wet against his foot, 
and horrified, held up the soaking rim of the satin dress, 
but Olivia merely glanced at it. 

“It is too long at any rate,” she observed, indiffer- 
ently. “ Laurette will be glad to cut some off,” and she 
pushed the wet edge out of sight. 

“ And you had a pleasant evening ? ” quoth he pres- 
ently. “ Ambrose is an agreeable fellow and gives him- 
self no airs. I was sure you would like him. No, I 
won’t smoke any more to-night, my dear, thank you ; I 
have had all I want. Nice little lot of children there. 
My word, they made me run about too.” 

“ I am afraid neither of us was over civil to the old 
couple,” said Olivia, genially ; “ you going off with Kitty 
and the young ones, and I being left with Mr. Ambrose. 
But really one can’t be expected to talk prosy talk — I 
mean it would have been such waste — that is, I couldn’t 
help his rather usurping me, could I, Willie ? ” 

“ He usurped you, did he ? ” 

“ It was his doing, it was indeed,” said Olivia, eagerly. 
“ I was sitting there, as you saw — it was Kitty by the 
way who put me into that chair — and he came to the 
7 * 


100 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


other at once. And somehow, when we began to talk, 
we forgot the others. When I looked round after a 
little, every one had gone. I did not see that it was 
necessary to follow them, though I did make a sort of 
attempt, but Mr. Ambrose ” she paused. 

“ Why, of course, Ambrose preferred your company 
to that of the good old Thatchers. They can’t talk up 
to him as you can. If he had been younger, perhaps 
he might not have seen Kitty’s vanishing as she did 
though.” 

“ Kitty! ” said Olivia, rearing her chin. 

You think you can hold your own against a dozen 
Kittys? And so you can, unless a man is on the 
marry, which it is pretty plain our friend over there 
isn’t. Still he might do worse than little Kitty Thatcher ; 
a nice girl, and pretty, and all that. And now that 
Fellows need no longer be bachelors, and Ambrose makes 
a lot by his books, and will go up the tree like fun 


“ What are you talking about ? ” said Olivia, coldly. 

“ I was only wondering,” said Willie ; after a minute 
he resumed: “Clever men don’t always want clever 
wives. The life of a man like Ambrose must be an 
awful grind, and a nice cheerful little creature who would 
pull him off his high horse at times, would suit him very 
well. Of course, she is rather young.” 

Olivia made a restive movement. 

“ Sensible enough, though,” continued he, on receiv- 
ing no response. “ The way she mothers those other 
children shows that. They are evidently accustomed 
to her authority, and the eldest daughter of a large 
family soon learns to stand upon her feet.” 

Olivia yawned, Kitty standing on her feet or her head 
was alike to her. 

“ So you don’t think anything will come of his being 


LEANING FORWARD 


lOI 


here?" proceeded Willie, after a pause. “I daresay 
not. How long does he stay ? " 

“ He said nothing about going. He is coming over 
to call on us to-morrow." 

“ Is he? But to-morrow is Thursday, my late day. 
I’m afraid I shan’t be home before eight. Of course, I 
might manage ’’ — and he ruminated alarmingly. 

Alarmingly, for this was just what Olivia feared; 
by putting on pressure she could nearly always bring 
her husband out by an early train even on a Thursday, 
and if there were any disagreeable prospect in view 
which his presence could alleviate, any boredom which 
it could avert, he was peremptorily summoned. He 
might now think that a distinguished visitor who had 
announced his intention of calling at The Willow House 
would expect its master to be there to do the honours. 

“ I shouldn’t bother,’’ said she, quickly. 

“ Ambrose wouldn’t think it uncivil ? You could 
explain ? ’’ 

“ He would not dream of your leaving your business 
because he, being at a loose end, wanders over here to 
pass away the time. That is what it amounts to. We 
made rather friends, he and I, and " 

“And I should only be in the way," said Willie, 
relieved. “ You’ll show him your garden and your 
books ; and, I say, there are cigars on the smoking-room 
table, mind you offer them ; he simply snapped at those 
I took with me to-night, and I filled his case for him." 

“ I thought there was something curiously familiar 
about the smell of that smoke," laughed Olivia, with 
lightened brow. “So it was yours? Till to-night I 
always thought all smokes smelt alike, but Colonel 
Thatcher’s was absolutely different and quite disagree- 
able. I will say, Willie, yours is never disagreeable; 
it can be even rather pleasant — sometimes." 


102 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


“ I do have the best,” allowed he, modestly. “ I 
don’t have many extravagances, as I think you’ll own, 
Olivia— -but I can’t stand cheap cigars. So you 
spotted mine to-night ? Did you say so to Ambrose ? ” 

“ He asked if he might smoke, and I said ‘ Yes — in 
the open air,’ and that was all. We were talking of 
other things.” 

“About his work, I suppose? They say he’s a 
regular whale for work.” 

“About his work, yes, a little.” 

“You were able to keep trot with him? To under- 
stand what he was speaking about ? ” 

“ He seemed to think so.” 

“ Well, we’ve had a very jolly evening,” summed 
up he as the carriage stopped. “ I shouldn’t mind a 
few more such. Perhaps when people find out you can 
go to them if they produce a man like Ambrose, they’ll 
look about. They’ll think it’s worth their while to hunt 
up a celebrity. I daresay it’ll go the round that he 
came to call on us too,” added he, with a simplicity 
that Olivia might have scoffed at, but did not. 

She was very gentle with Willie that evening. She 
looked into his untroubled eyes wherein sat no jealousy, 
and listened to his cheerful accents wherein lurked no 
reproof, and felt herself rehabilitated in her own esteem, 
which had vaguely suffered at the Thatchers’ hands. 
Even Kitty’s “You did have a beautiful time, didn’t 
you ? ” was all unconsciously a sting. 

Olivia was not a woman of quick perceptions, or 
perhaps it was that she had dulled them by disuse, but 
she had interpreted aright the angry thrust of Colonel 
Thatcher’s arm towards her, and the march of his step 
as he guarded her to the door. 

Guarded, that was the word. And he had snatched 
the dropped glove from Ambrose and persistently stood 


LEANING FORWARD 


103 


between him and the carriage door — there could be no 
mistake as to what were the colonel’s sentiments. 
Lady Fanny, too, had permitted her guests to take their 
leave without any of the effusion customary among 
neighbours. She had kissed Olivia, but the kiss was 
a cold one ; and the rapturous expressions with which 
the latter had greeted the reassembled party were ex- 
changed for the most formal and inevitable of common- 
places when it came to “ Good-bye 

Alone with Willie, his wife half-expected him to 
explode, though had he done so her resentment would 
have been prompt and deep. That she could not be 
trusted to take care of her own dignity, that she should 
be subjected to ridiculous aspersions, etc. ! Willie would 
have cried for mercy and grovelled for forgiveness ere 
she had done with him. 

But Willie, smiling and sleepy and talking about 
their jolly evening, was a Willie who raised a dim, un- 
defined sensation of comfort within Olivia’s breast. She 
would have liked to tell him how horrid the others were, 
to enlist his sympathy and partisanship for herself, and 
to — no, she did not exactly desire to dilate upon Philip 
Ambrose to her husband. 

It would be safest perhaps to let the Thatcher family 
alone also, seeing that their attitude had passed un- 
noticed, and now that Willie had been told about the 
impending call, and had taken it as a reasonable man 
should, even to the proffering of his best cigars, there 
was nothing to detract from the lustre of the prospect. 
She leaned over the banisters and called down a gay 
nothing to the figure in the hall below as she passed 
upstairs. 


CHAPTER VI. 

THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE. 

But perhaps it is hardly to be wondered at that Mrs. 
Seaford was not down for breakfast next morning. 

Habitual dissipation, though it must be paid for in 
the long run, gives a certain amount of credit — but the 
isolated plunge demands cash on delivery and waits at 
the door. Olivia had slept brokenly and awoke feverish. 

“ You see I never can stand excitement,” murmured 
she to Willie, bending over her pillow ; “ this is only 
what I expected.” 

But, 1 say, you are not bad, are you ? ” He laid 
his hand on hers, and felt how hot it was. 

Only tired ; I shan’t get up just yet.” 

“ You are sure there is nothing that ” 

“ Oh, yes, quite sure.” She threw back the sheet 
and turned over restlessly. 

‘‘ You won’t do anything or go anywhere or see any- 
body to-day, dear ? ” He had forgotten about Ambrose, 
and Olivia looked at him curiously. 

I shan’t stir beyond the garden, Willie. But I 
told you Mr. Ambrose was coming.” 

“ Ambrose ? But I could put him off as I go by ; I 
could leave word that you were a little over done.” 

“No, no. No, please don’t.” There was a swift 
change of tone. “ By the time he comes I shall be all 
right, and ” — she laughed a little but not quite natur- 

104 


THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE 105 

ally — ‘‘tired of my own company perhaps. Besides, 

when a man like that offers to call ” 

“To be sure. It is a compliment, and he may not 
have another opportunity. You’ll explain how I can’t 
be here, and say I’m sorry and all that ? ’’ 

“ I’ll say all that’s proper, Willie.” 

“ If he could stay for dinner ” 

“ He could not ; of course, he could not. Oh, never 
mind about him, perhaps he will never come ; he may 
only have said it on the spur of the moment, and the 
Thatchers may arrange something else for this after- 
noon.” 

“ But you’ll take care he doesn’t think me rude ? If 

I had been by when he suggested calling ” 

“ Oh, Willie dear, that’ll do ; there’s no need for a 
fuss. If he comes, he comes ; if not, it doesn’t matter,” 
— but even as she spoke Olivia was conscious of the in- 
sincerity of her indifference. It did matter, it mattered 
vitally, and she knew that Ambrose felt as she did. He 
would not allow the Thatchers or any one else to stand 
between him and her, to prevent by any evil machina- 
tions his presenting himself that day at The Willow 
House. 

And she hated to talk about him, she only wanted 
to think about him. Directly her husband had crept 
softly away, subduing his heavy tread almost to inaudi- 
bility and closing the door as though it were that of a 
sick room, she sat up in bed, and gazed through the 
open window at the green trees and sunshine outside. 

It seemed a shame not to be already out of doors — 
and yet what could she do out of doors that could not 
be done within ? She was not fit for work ; her brain 
was busy, but hands and arms felt weak and nerveless. 
The effort of rising and dressing was a bugbear, and 
there was nothing to rise and dress for — till five o’clock. 


io6 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


Then Laurette appeared with a tray, demurely sym- 
pathetic, adjuring Madame to lie still and rest herself, 
shaking her head over Madame’s so pale and fagged-out 
countenance. 

‘‘Late hours never do suit me, Laurette.” 

** Assure'ment non/' said Laurette, decidedly. As to 
the satin dress, Dieu merci I it was only on the train 
where doubtless it had lain on the dewy grass, that it 
was discoloured. 

“ Figure to yourself how wonderful that the so ugly 
stain stops short, precisely where it would have been 
impossible to cut it off,” cried the girl, triumphantly; 
mais rnoiy I have already put in the pins, and when I 
cut with the scissors, the train will be one little three 
or four inches shorter at the very, very back, and at the 
sides not at all. It is marvellous ; Madame will see no 
change in her beautiful satin robe.” 

“ Show it me when it’s done,” said Olivia, absently. 
“ I know how clever you are with your fingers, Laur- 
ette.” 

Mais oui, what am I for? And Madame goes out 
so little ” — but Madame cut the chatter short. 

“ Take away everything but the tea and toast, 
Laurette ; I can’t look at other foods in this weather. 
Take the butter too, and don’t come till I call.” 

“ Shall I close the shutters ? Is the light too strong 
for Madame ? ” 

“ No, no. I only want to be quiet.” And the de- 
parting Laurette had a vision of a white figure extended 
motionless, whose listless arm was nowhere near the 
breakfast tray, and Laurette was very sure that dinner- 
parties were not good for her mistress. 

Nevertheless, it . is but due to Olivia to record that 
her ruminations were not altogether such as our readers 
may have been led to expect. If she had been fascinated 


THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE 107 

by Philip Ambrose, it was for reasons explicable to her- 
self; and though conscious of a reluctance to enter into 
these with others, she argued that in themselves they 
were justifiable. Whatever might appear, there could 
be no real harm in feeling pleased and honoured by his 
singling her out as one to whom a higher style of con- 
versation could be addressed than to the Thatchers, or 
Willie, or probably any others who might have been 
present on the previous evening. The swiftness with 
which Ambrose had recognised her right to meet him on 
equal ground could not but be delightful ; she would 
have been less than human if she had not felt it so; 
there could be no confounding of this with an ordinary 
vulgar flirtation. 

Besides, she was going to be an author, and for 
authors who sought to teach, to elevate, to ennoble, 
it was an incalculable boon to be in touch with kindred 
minds. What folly then for any weak scruple to 
have curtailed a tete-a-tete of such importance to her 
unwritten pages, what waste of a golden opportunity 
had she risen at Lady Fanny’s hint, and missed, and 
it may be, lost for ever the full fruition of the hour. 

She had an instinctive conviction that Ambrose was 
not a man who often let himself go as he had done with 
her. And it might be that this was because she was 
sensible of being herself unlike herself with him. There 
had been revelations on both sides which had fused into 
each other. 

Olivia had heard her own voice saying what she had 
never heard it say before, and that in response to some- 
thing in his which it was borne in on her was also new. 
Perhaps Colonel Thatcher was not so very far wrong 
when he talked as he did presently of “ That damned 
Soul and Affinity business ” which was the beginning of 
hum-hum-hum — and had Olivia Seaford been other 


io8 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


than the woman she was, she would have recognised 
his perspicuity. 

As it was, she only wanted to be again thrilled and 
kindled and inspired as she had been the evening before. 
Such sensations had hitherto only come to her through 
books, and books are but a poor echo of living tones 
and glances. 

While these were still vibrating upon the inmost 
chords of her being she had longed to fly to her desk, 
and dash down, fast as pen could do, sentiments and 
phrases, fearful lest they should escape her memory — 
but since that could not be, she had, in the wakeful 
hours of the night, repeated them over and over, find- 
ing fresh and vagrant inspirations springing from each 
source, till the whole was in a tumult and she was fain 
to let all go if only sleep would come instead. 

It was grievous that now, when the time had come 
for which she erst had longed, the desire had flown. 
She had literally no energy to gather her errant wits 
together for the task that had then seemed no task at all. 
She even shrank from transcribing any part of a conversa- 
tion which after all was not for the world but for herself. 

It would, of course, influence her book indirectly, so 
much was indubitable ; but it would be more delicate, 
more dignified to — to — “ I shan’t write to-day,” de- 

cided she, finally. “ I shall wait till I have so assimi- 
lated his thoughts with my own that I can give them 
out again as my own. Besides I am not in the mood,” — 
and that settled the matter. 

By the afternoon lassitude had given way to renewed 
anticipation and some degree of excitement. Olivia 
rose and put on her prettiest summer frock, ate a little, 
read a little, gardened a little ; found everything tire- 
some after it was begun, and every place the wrong 
place directly it was reached. 


THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE 109 

She had half expected a visit from Kitty, and fancied 
the prospect distasteful — but once or twice there was 
an eager listening when any unusual sound occurred, 
and a faint sense of disappointment when there was no 
result. Kitty might as well have run over to say what 
the rest were doing, and talk over things generally. 
“ She can always come when there is nothing to tell,” 
muttered Olivia, ‘‘ not that I exactly want her, but still 

” and she found herself accounting in various ways 

for Kitty’s absence. 

Could it be due to parental prohibition ? Could that 
silly old colonel have been objectionable and idiotic as 
he was last night? If so, there was no saying what 
disagreeable things might not have passed which loyal 
Kitty preferred to keep to herself; and knowing how 
difficult this would be in Olivia’s presence, she might 
have voluntarily elected to refrain from seeking it. But 
Ambrose would come, he would certainly come — she 
raised her eyes and Ambrose stood upon the balcony 
with Kitty by his side. 

They were before their time — to be correct, he was 
before his time — and as for his companion ? Somehow 
Olivia had never dreamed of this conjunction. 

She was so taken aback that for a few seconds she 
simply stared and stood still. 

The two were laughing and talking; laughing and 
talking as gaily and unconcernedly as if their arrival 
were the most natural thing in the world, not in the 
least as though the moment were one for which another 
person had been waiting and longing and preparing all 
through the tedious hours of the day. 

Olivia had superintended the disposal of her small 
encampment in the shade, and caused it to be altered 
more than once. She had an eye for pictorial effects. 

With her own hands she had bedecked the tea-table, 


no THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


gathering for it her choicest and sweetest blossoms. 
And she had thrown about a book or two — books of a 
select order — and a red parasol lay upon the turf, and 
she herself in her cool, flowing muslin was conscious of 
making a pretty spot of colour against the surrounding 
green. Ambrose, hot and dusty from his walk along 
the glaring high road, should come all at once upon an 
enchanting oasis, and supposing that he, too, had 
dragged through a wearisome period beforehand with 
his inward eyes fixed upon this point, it should satisfy 
him. 

And now it fell flat, the whole thing. The merri- 
ment of the pair upon the balcony grated upon her ears, 
in particular the man’s jolly “ Ha — ha — ! ” What was 
there to laugh about ? 

Olivia was a serious person, who herself laughed but 
rarely, and that only when she was genuinely amused ; 
she found nothing humorous in the present moment, 
was never less inclined for jesting, and a frown hovered 
on her brow. 

In short, she was in the mood of the previous 
evening, while Ambrose had passed into another, and 
the effect was as if she had received a slap in the face. 

We gave them the slip at home,” cried Kitty, 
running down the steps ; it was such fun. They are 
all gone off to Hay Hill by water, and we said we’d 
walk. We did not exactly say where ; and when it’s all 
over, no one can blame us for finding it too far to that 
tiresome, stupid Hay Hill.” 

“ As you were so good as to allow me to call,” sub- 
joined Ambrose, in the same cheerful note, “ I con- 
fided to Miss Kitty that I knew we should find you at 
home.” 

I am always at home at this time,” replied Olivia, 
quietly. 


THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE in 


“ But she doesn’t always let people in,” nodded 
Kitty, proud of her footing at The Willow House. “ If 
you had come alone,” she turned to Ambrose, “ you 
would never have got past Thomas. Thomas knows it 
is as much as his place is worth to admit anybody but 
me without special orders ” — and she smiled all round, 
and Olivia responded to the smile and did not say that 
the special orders had been given. 

She was enraged at herself, and keenly anxious not 
to betray herself. Philip Ambrose had come to her as 
to an ordinary acquaintance who had made an agree- 
able impression — she recalled that this was Willie’s 
view of the case, though it had not been hers — and even 
as she led the way across the lawn she heard herself 
telling Willie about the call, and telling him more easily 
than she had expected to do ! 

‘‘ What a beautiful garden you have here,” said 
Ambrose, casting his eyes about. 

“ Oh, Olivia’s garden ! ” exclaimed Kitty, ecstatically* 
It is your hobby, is it not ? ” pursued Ambrose. 
“ Miss Kitty told me as we came along that you made 
a perfect hobby of it. I know nothing about flowers, 
but I should say, if such an absolute ignoramus may 
presume to have an opinion at all, that you are richly 
rewarded for your pains. Your display is brilliant.” 

Now what was there in this encomium that jarred 
upon Olivia ? She herself could not have told, and yet 
she was conscious of vaguely protesting against its 
brisk outspokenness, and of having hoped for something 
different. Her garden was to her such a sacred spot, 
so peopled with creatures of the imagination, so full of 
subtle, sweet delight, so interwoven with her deepest 
and tenderest feelings, that to hear it called a “ Hobby ” 
was bad enough in itself, but the further phrase “ A 
brilliant display” applied to her beloved roses and 


112 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


geraniums, the cultivation of which was well-nigh a 
passion with her, was even worse. 

For a few moments, indeed, she felt as if the speaker’s 
power over her was broken. A man who could thus ex- 
press himself could hardly be the man she had taken 
Philip Ambrose for. Even Willie would have spoken 
more reverently and sympathetically. 

He proceeded, however, all unconscious. ‘‘ This is 
a fine soil for flower-growing, I daresay, though I am 
told it does not suit all kinds. I have a friend who has 
the most desperate struggles with — but upon my word I 
forget what it is which baffles him. Some particular 
shrubs — possibly rhododendrons — but don’t laugh at my 
ignorance if I am wrong — will not stand a chalky soil, 
and my poor friend moans and groans, though he has a 
very ornamental garden in other respects.” 

“ Ornamental! ” Olivia winced afresh. She had a 
fastidious dislike of certain words, and Ornamental ” 
was one. 

“ Our rhododendrons do very well,” she observed, 
coldly. 

“ Everything does well with Olivia,” struck in 
Kitty. She knew Olivia’s face, and wondered that Mr. 
Ambrose should call forth its present expression. “ You 
will take us round presently, won’t you ? ” she ran on. 
“We are come to stay, and we want to see everything 
— and oh, Olivia, have my buddings taken, have any of 
them taken ? If only one or two ” 

“ What buddings ? ” queried Olivia. Her tone was 
almost haughty ; she was really in pain as she spoke. 

“ Why, those I got for you from Paul’s,” cried 
Kitty in astonishment. “I must see for myself” — she 
sprang up. “ Just one moment and I shall be back,” — 
and away she flew. 

“ You may go or come, you may be away a moment 


THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE 113 

or an hour, it is the same to me now,” reflected her 
friend, but the thought had scarce flashed through her 
brain ere she caught it back, as it were, and threw it 
aside. 

“ What would I not have given to come here alone ? ” 
It was a new voice that breathed softly in Olivia’s ear. 
“ I had set my heart on a resumption of our delightful 
converse of last night ; we left so many things un- 
touched, there was so much ground yet to be broken, 
that it would have been an untold pleasure to take up 
the thread in this exquisite seclusion, with nothing to 
spoil the harmony of the hour ; but it was impossible ” 
— he looked significance, and shook his head. “ I felt 
you would understand,” he murmured. 

“ My husband bade me say how sorry he was to 
miss you,” stammered she. It was a reply which was 
no reply, but Olivia was scarce conscious of what she 
was saying. 

“ And so am I sorry, and it will always be a pleasure 
to meet Mr. Seaford, but how about the old proverb ? ” 
said Ambrose, smiling boldly. “ ‘ Two’s company, three’s 
none,’ you know. To tell the truth, I hoped that your 
husband might be here, and that Miss Kitty, eh ? Then 

we could have talked undisturbed. Suppose ?” he 

leaned a little nearer. 

“ Suppose ? ” echoed she, looking at him. 

“ Suppose we send her home? ” 

“What’s this? You here? Where’s Ambrose?” 
Colonel Thatcher had not accompanied the party to 
Hay Hill, and, finding what he took to be an empty 
house on returning from his own peregrinations, to his 
surprise stumbled upon his eldest daughter curled up 
in a window-seat. “Didn’t you go with the rest?” 
demanded he, rather anxiously. “ Anything wrong? ” 

8 


1 14 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

‘‘ Only that it was so very hot we really could not 
walk so far.” 

So you gave it up ? — quite right. I thought it was 
a mad idea. Where’s Ambrose ? ” 

“ He has not come in yet.” 

“ Have you had tea? ” 

“Oh, yes, thank you, long ago. We” — but the 
words stuck in Kitty’s throat. With her co-delinquent 
at her side to give his easy version of the case, there had 
seemed nothing worse than a passing shade on her 
father’s brow when he should learn that the two had 
“ Taken refuge,” as they had elected to term it, at The 
Willow House, but alone her courage failed her. She 
hardly knew how to say that she had left her companion 
with her friend, and had a faint hope that the avowal 
might be delayed, if not averted. 

“ He’ll come in when he’s tired,” observed Colonel 
Thatcher, placidly. “ I saw he was not very keen on 
that Hay Hill business, which, between ourselves, was 
a very poor notion on your mother’s part. A con- 
foundedly long pull up-stream to begin with, and 
nothing to do or to see when you get there. Call it a 
‘ Hill ’ ? There’s no hill, only a hump ; and such view 
as there is from the top, will be hidden in haze on a 
day like this.” 

He was turning away, but Kitty stopped him. “You 
don’t mind our having gone to the Seafords instead, 
then ? ” Her heart beat a little, but she was not going 
to be a coward. 

“To the Seafords!” The retreating figure came 
to an instantaneous standstill. 

“ We knew Olivia would be at home and glad to 
see us,” faltered Kitty. 

“Olivia? You took Ambrose to see Olivia, you 
little — he asked you, I suppose ? ” — suddenly. 


THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE 115 


“We agreed together to go,” murmured she, eva- 
sively. “We thought it would be nice. Was there 
any reason why we shouldn’t, father ? ” 

But though there was a touch of defiance in the 
last words, not a little to Kitty’s surprise, they did not 
elicit the expected outburst. She looked at her father, 
and he was looking at her. 

To himself he was ejaculating angrily : Reason ? 
There was every reason, every reason indeed, why a 
daughter of his should not be made the catspaw of two 
unprincipled persons, should not play into their hand s 
and carry on their game, — but he looked again at the 
unconscious young face, so pure, so innocent, and bit 
his lip in silence. 

“/s there any reason?” repeated Kitty, gathering 
courage. 

“ No.” He forced himself to say “ No,” but it was 
a husky, unnatural monosyllable. 

“There isn’t?” Her rejoinder rang out shrilly. 
“ Then why ? ” 

“ Why what ? ” 

“ Why should you look so glum upon it ? ” laughed 
Kitty, jumping up and coming towards him. “ I thought 
you were going to thunder at me ; and, father, I did feel 
rather guilty, because I knew in my heart you would 
not like our going ; but since you own yourself there 
was nothing against it — and yet you still look put out ? ” 
— scrutinizing his countenance with a perplexity that 
might any moment pass into comprehension. 

He felt he must dispel it. “ It was a foolish idea 
that of deserting the rest of your party and making a 
separate expedition, my dear. Your mother had got 
up the whole thing for Ambrose, and he might at least 
have told her— but no matter. He did not think of it. 
Not being a family man, he does not know the fuss it is 


ii6 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


to get a party under way, and would have no idea his 
going or not was of any consequence. Oh, it’s no matter, 
none at all, child ” — patting her shoulder affectionately ; 
''you were not to blame anyhow ; and, as I say, Ambrose 
would never give it a thought. I was a little taken aback, 
that was all. Olivia Seaford is not generally so civil to 
our visitors. She had told him she would be at home, 
eh ? ” — carelessly. 

“ Yes, father, last night.” 

“Last night? I daresay. On the lawn; and Am- 
brose — well, well — he ought hardly to have made his 
own arrangements without reference to us, but I sup- 
pose he thinks he is a great man and can do as he 
pleases. In my young days people were more punctili- 
ous, and even now I fancy — I hate to be nasty to people 
behind backs — but I must say, this Oxford don is a 
trifle too free and easy for my taste. I was brought up 
in a different school ” — and the colonel straightened 
his back. 

“He is a little masterful,” owned Kitty, after a 
minute’s hesitation. “ I suppose it is as you say, that 
he is so accustomed to ordering people about without 
being hampered by ” 

“ Hampered by good breeding, eh ? ” (“ Thank 

Heaven, sAe’s not caught by him, at any rate,” 
chuckled the colonel within himself. “ I don’t fancy 
Master Ambrose as a son-in-law.”) 

“ You haven’t said how it came about that you left 
him behind?” — suddenly he bethought himself of this, 
which Kitty had hoped might be overlooked. 

“ Oh, he — he just stayed, father.” 

“You made your call and had the sense to come 
home, and he hadn’t the manners to come with you? ” 

“ It wasn’t exactly that. They ” But she 

could think of nothing to add to her “ They ”. 


THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE 117 


^‘They shunted you?” supplied he. “You found 
yourself in the way ? One too many ? ” 

“ Olivia does always like to have one person rather 
than two, father, especially when she is showing off her 
garden. And you see the garden isn’t new to me, as it 
is to Mr. Ambrose ; and it is rather stupid to have some 
one listening who knows all about it when you are show- 
ing anything off to some one else who doesn’t. I sug- 
gested, quite of myself, that I had things to do at home, 
and Mr. Ambrose did kind of offer to come, and asked if 
I minded going alone, — but I told him I went and came 
along that road every day, and laughed at the idea.” 

“ You have been back some time ? ” 

“ Ye — es,” owned Kitty, reluctantly. She had been 
watching for the recreant’s return for over an hour, 
hoping that he would escape the interrogations of others 
by being in before them. 

“ I daresay Seaford has arrived from town, and Am- 
brose would stop on to talk to him,” observed the colonel, 
mildly. He was conscious of having been on the verge 
of indiscretion a minute before. “ I’ll go along the road 
and see if any of them are coming ? I may even go to 
the house. Seaford brings down the evening paper, and 
there is something in it I want to see.” 

But it was Seaford and not the paper he wanted to 
see, or rather he was curious to discover if Seaford were 
actually there or not. 

“ I’m a suspicious old fox, I suppose,” ruminated he, 
as he tramped along; “but, upon my word, I shan’t 
quite clear madam unless I see fat Willie sitting on the 
lawn. Even then — confound it, I daresay the whole 
thing is a mare’s nest, but it has taken hold of me, and 
for my life I can’t get rid of it. I don’t like the woman 
— that’s to say, she’s attractive enough and has got a 
head on her shoulders, but she exasperates me, and it’s 


ii8 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


possible I do her injustice ; ” and when he espied a party 
of three in front of The Willow House, and noted that 
Willie Seaford was without hat or stick or newspaper, 
and had the air of a man cooled down and comfortable, 
he shook his old head at himself again. 

I’m a regular suspicious old fox. India plays the 
very devil with a man’s faith in womanhood. I ought 
to be ashamed of attributing to a decent English girl 
the tricks of those hussies out there, just because she has 
a little mild flirtation right under the eye of old friends, 
and that with a respectable man of position who would 
no more be beguiled into any real mischief than I should 
myself. Well, now, I am glad I was careful with Kitty,” 
he wound up, and saluted the trio in his best manner. 

“ Come to look for you ” (to Ambrose) ; “ Kitty told 
me where you were to be found, and I guessed Seaford 
would be home by now too. Brought a paper down ? ” 
(to him). No one had ever seen the old soldier in more 
genial vein. 

The paper was in the house and would be fetched 
directly, but meantime Colonel Thatcher’s opinion was 
wanted about something else. 

*‘It’s about the Berrys,” explained Willie; “you 
can tell Mr. Ambrose about them, for you knew them, 
which we didn’t. At least I knew the little chap well 
enough, and we often had a chat, — but Olivia thought it 
wasn’t worth while bothering to call on his wife, as they 
were only here for so short a time. However, you liked 
them, didn’t you, sir? And they told you and Lady 
Fanny they were jolly comfortable at the cottage, didn’t 
they ? ” 

“ The Berrys ? I believe so. Never heard it if they 
weren’t. Did you know them?” — the colonel turned 
to Ambrose. “You should have told us; though, by 
the way, they left last week.” 


THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE 119 

'‘That’s it, they’ve left, and the rooms are free,” 
struck in Willie. “ Mr. Ambrose thinks of taking them.” 

“ No, I did not know your friends,” explained Am- 
brose, more collectedly, “ but I am on the look-out for 
some little quiet nook where I could work in peace for 
the next two months, and Mr. Seaford thinks this cot- 
tage which we were just going to see when you ap- 
proached, might suit me.” 

“ Pump Cottage ? Aye, I daresay it might.” But 
the colonel undeniably looked a little blank. He had 
been gratified by the offer of a visit from the famous 
Oxford scholar ; he had strained his mental acumen to 
its utmost to cope with his distinguished guest, and for 
three days had thought and talked of nothing else — but 
now, now just when he was secretly conscious of look- 
ing forward to a relaxation of effort, and to enjoying 
the eclat of having entertained Ambrose, with Ambrose 
safely off the field, this sudden move was perhaps the 
last thing desired. 

Willie, however, was radiant. “ I tell him he might 
search England through and he wouldn’t find a prettier 
spot, nor a nicer old couple to take him in and do for 
him. The sitting-room is at the back. He would not 
even see people in the lane — though for that matter few 
enough go by, for it’s a beast of a lane in winter and 
leads to nowhere in summer. What are you laughing 
at, Olivia? ” 

“Nothing,” laughed she. “We all know what 
you mean, Willie.” 

“ It does lead nowhere — oh, I see. But of course 
no one would want to go along a lane knee-deep in mud, 
so that it’s only when the mud’s dry and caked as it is 
now, that you find out what a sell that lane is. Lands 
you in a cow-shed, and even its gate is locked.” 

“ That’s all right,” said Ambrose, cheerfully. “ From 


120 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


what you say I am convinced I have found the very 
place I am in search of, so now shall we stroll down 
and see it ? ” Unconsciously he was assuming the lead 
of the party, but he looked towards Olivia as he spoke, 
and Olivia’s reply was something of a surprise to all. 

“ I don’t think I shall go. I feel lazy. And, Willie, 
you know the old people better than I do ; you go with 
Mr. Ambrose, and perhaps Colonel Thatcher will stay 
here with me ? ” 

“ My husband has a mania for finding quarters for 
people,” pursued she, when her arrangement having 
been adopted, she found herself alone with the colonel ; 
“ he can’t hear of anybody’s wanting a moor, or a villa, 
or even an hotel, without running over in his mind the 
names of all he has ever heard of. Nothing pleases 
him better than to be directly asked to recommend one, 
but even when he is not asked, he hurries to tell.” 

‘‘Ambrose came to the right person, then,” said 
Colonel Thatcher, as cordially as he could. “ Or did 
your husband suggest Pump Cottage in the first in- 
stance? I know he has been talking about it.” 

“ It was quite a vexation to him that it should stand 
empty even for this week,” laughed Olivia. “ It was 
terrible to Willie that there might be people who would 
give the world to know of such a spot, and that he had 
no means of telling them.” But she did not say he 
had suggested it to Ambrose. 

As a matter of fact the idea had sprung up as it 
were of itself, having its precise origin neither in Olivia’s 
mind nor in that of her companion whom it most 
affected. They both inclined to be together, and alike 
felt that fate was cruel in having brought them into 
communion for so brief a space, and Ambrose put this 
into words. 

“And now I am going, and when shall we meet 


THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE 121 


again?” said he, with a sigh. “My lonely life must 
be taken up afresh, and you will forget all about me in 
your happier lot.” 

“ Oh, you will come here every now and then, I 
suppose.” Olivia tried to speak with cheerful uncon- 
cern, though she too felt depressed and dejected as the 
hour of parting drew near. “You are a free man, you 
go where you will ; and considering that we live in the 
same county, is it so very unlikely that we should run 
across each other sometimes? ” 

“ I must get to work, you know; and while my work 
ties me down to the proximity of a musty library and a 
goading publisher, you will be off to — where are you 
going for the autumn ? ” — he broke off to ask. 

“ Nowhere, we don’t go away at the time other 
people do,” replied she. “ Willie shoots for a few weeks 
in Scotland ; he joins a man’s shooting party, but I 
wait till the holiday rush is over. These breezy hill- 
sides are pleasant enough and healthy enough even in 
sultry August, and I could not face long journeys to get 
elsewhere till the cooler weather sets in.” 

“ You would be here through August ? ” He leaned 
forward, breathing quickly. 

“ I always am. I would not be anywhere else for 
the world.” 

“Then — then — but the Thatchers will be away; ” 
he paused, his brain obviously at work. “ I had thought 
of — but I have nothing fixed — and it would be near 
enough to Oxford — and quiet — and as you say, healthy 
— Mrs. Seaford, I am wondering.” 

“ And I am wondering what about ? ” — smiled 
she. 

“ Could I — would it be possible for me to find — what 
about rooms in some village near here ? ” — he regarded 
her intently, feeling his way. 


122 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


‘‘ There is no village near, I am afraid, Mr. Ambrose.” 
A thought had arisen in her mind, but she did not blurt 
it out as Willie would, she waited to have it drawn from 
her. 

‘‘But there are farmhouses, cottages? ” 

“ Would you be content with a cottage? ” 

“ I should be content with anything in this lovely 
country, and with such friends at hand. You can’t 
think what a difference it would make to me if I might 
have you and Mr. Seaford to come and see, what a re- 
freshment at the close of a day’s work to say to myself, 

‘ Now for The Willow House ! ’ But perhaps ” — again 
he strove to read her face — “perhaps I should be a 
nuisance?” “It is too bad thus to propose fastening 
myself upon people who yesterday were absolute 
strangers, but who to-day — no, forgive me, I am too 
impulsive.” 

“We are honoured, Mr. Ambrose.” 

“ Believe me, it is not my habit to make such sudden 
friendships,” said he, earnestly; “ and I can only say in 
my own excuse that never before have I been so tempted. 
Your ideal life — but let us return to — to what we were 
talking about.” He broke off with a slight confusion 
of countenance. 

“ If you could put up with a very, very humble 
abode,” said Olivia, quietly, “ I believe there is one ” 
— and at that moment her husband emerged from the 
house. He had not been able to shake off the impres- 
sion that a later return would be discourteous to the 
expected guest, and now hailed the latter with joy. 
When he heard of the proposal under discussion more- 
over, his reception of it was rapturous, and we know the 
rest. 

The gentlemen returned from their exploring ex- 


THE TENANT OF PUMP COTTAGE 123 


pedition with the matter settled, and Willie’s hat wav- 
ing directly he caught sight of the others. ‘‘ Permit me 
to present to you the tenant of Pump Cottage ” — he 
flourished his arm towards Ambrose, and Ambrose 
steadily kept his eyes away from Olivia. 


CHAPTER VII. 

“ HE DOES FAG YOU RATHER.” 

And now opened a new chapter in Olivia Seaford’s life. 

She had been married for six years — six smooth, 
luxurious, eventless years — and, had she been still the 
fragile girl she was when these began, it is quite 
possible that an interminable vista of the same would 
have satisfied her in the future as it had in the past. 

But her health had improved and her mind de- 
veloped. For some time she had been conscious of 
occasional bursts of energy, and even of very occasional 
twinges of discontent. 

Habit, however, was too strong for both ; and there 
was also always the fear lest anything should be said or 
done to open her husband’s eyes, when he would infal- 
libly propose remedies — and Willie’s remedies ! — Olivia 
shuddered at them. 

Even for herself she was not sure of what she 
wanted, but she was quite sure it would not be what he 
wanted. It was safer and easier and better in every 
way to keep on as they were; it might be terribly 
dangerous to deviate from the rose-strewn path. 

But the installation of Philip Ambrose at the cottage 
in the lane had in it nothing alarming, and necessitated 
no change in the leisurely, tranquil, everyday life at The 
Willow House. Its mistress would not even need to 
seek him out now and then as she must have done had 

124 


HE DOES FAG YOU RATHER 


125 


he been a woman. He was there, and made free of the 
Seafords’ domain. He was not to be treated ceremon- 
iously, invited at set hours to meals, and barred entrance 
at other times. He was to enter by the side door; to 
lift the latch and walk in. “And when you don’t see 
me, look about and find me,” said Olivia. “And, I 
say. I’m always at home by six, except on Thursdays,” 
added Willie. 

They equally looked upon Ambrose as their produc- 
tion, almost as their tenant : Pump Cottage belonged 
to Mr. Seaford, and was only let for a term of years to 
his cowman — so that the cowman’s lodgers might cer- 
tainly be regarded by his landlord as in a manner tenants 
also. 

“That is what I tried to make you see about the 
Berrys,” quoth Willie to his wife ; “ and I always 
thought it rather rough on the Berrys that you wouldn’t.” 

He was, however, so pleased that the newcomer was 
not to be on the Berry level, that except for the above 
he was willing to let bygones be bygones, and Olivia 
found something to say in answer even to it. 

“A man and a woman are different from a man by 
himself,” observed she, oracularly. “ We should have 
had to entertain the Berrys, and I should have been 
forced to go and see her, and it would have been an 
infliction altogether.” 

“Aye, there’s something in that,” agreed he; “but 
all the same if Berry had been alone, eh, Olivia ? ” — and 
he tried to catch her eye laughing, and when she laughed 
too, needed no other answer. 

He was distinctly elated by Olivia’s attitude towards 
Ambrose. 

“ Those kind of chaps are her sort and no mistake,” 
he told himself. “ She regularly revels in his high- 
falutin style of conversation, and he has the sense to 


126 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


see she can tackle it. Well, Fm glad Olivia has got 
some one to talk to at last,” — and he prepared for his 
August shooting with a lighter heart than he would 
have done if Pump Cottage had stood empty. 

His shooting was the one thing he could not give up, 
and Olivia had always been rather kind about it. 

In her heart she knew how little he asked for, how 
much he gave ; and though she missed them — and hung 
about him before he went — and welcomed him back 
almost with tears of joy — she never tried to prevent his 
going. 

To ease his mind on her account she would even 
provide herself with a companion during his absence — 
but there was usually so much to complain of in the 
latter when he came home, such tales to tell of her dul- 
ness and tactlessness, such an evident sense of her having 
been a burden to flesh, soul, and spirit, that, though 
hugely delighted with the contrast drawn in his favour, 
and with her “ Oh, Willie, dear, it is good to have you 
home again,” he grew to dread the ordeal through which 
his poor Olivia must yearly pass, before she could throw 
herself on his broad breast at its close. 

But now you will have Ambrose,” said he, with 
a smack of the lips (one of his offences). “ I don’t know 
if you are thinking of having any one in the house or 
not ? ” — and he paused inquiringly. 

“ I suppose you think I must ? ” said she. She was 
wondering what he did think. 

** You would be lonesome in the evenings ; they 
begin to creep in about the middle of the month ; I don’t 
like to think of you sitting alone in the drawing-room. 
I say, it does seem selfish going off and leaving you like 
this,” suddenly he burst forth, thinking of the jolly com- 
pany he was going to, of the glorious tramps over flood 
and fell, with the jovial dinners to follow; then the 


HE DOES FAG YOU RATHER 


127 


stroll forth beneath the stars, or on a wet night, Bridge, 
and the keen quartette that knew all about each other’s 
play. The other three were bachelors, but it may be 
questioned whether any one of them enjoyed the free 
life on the moor as much as did Willie Seaford, who 
had Olivia’s image enshrined in his heart, and her 
photographs all over his little bedroom, and who 
prayed for her and blessed her every night ere he 
tumbled off to sleep on a hard bed that felt like down 
to his wearied limbs. “ I feel a brute,” he sighed now ; 
“ that is,” he brightened up, “ I should if you hadn’t 
Ambrose. I assure you, darling, I very nearly gave up 
Scotland this year after hearing your experiences with 
Amelia Ping-Pong ” 

“ Oh, Willie ! ” 

“ I can’t think of her name, what was it? Anyhow 
she doesn’t come here again, and I was wondering a 
good deal as to whom to get ? ” 

“ But you needn’t ; you needn’t worry : I can surely 
do that for myself,” cried Olivia, half-vexed, half-laugh- 
ing. “ If only you would not spoil me, Willie, I might 
be good for something yet. As for Amelia Ping-Pong 

as you call her — her real name is Puttick ” 

Aye, I might have remembered. I said to myself 
‘ Puttick and Simpson ’.” 

‘‘ But she is no relation whatever of ‘ Puttick and 
Simpson ’. Dear Willie, you are so very erratic in your 
conclusions ; I daresay Puttick is a common name 
enough. And I was only going to say,” proceeded 
Olivia, “ that perhaps I was rather hard on poor Amelia. 
I was run down and out of spirits last autumn, and you 

were away longer than usual ” 

I promise you I shan’t stay longer this year.” 

“ Oh, I — I don’t mean that—that’s to say it would 
not be the same this year ; ” hesitated she. 


128 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


‘‘ Any time you are feeling ill or moping, you know, 
you have only to send for me. Wire in the morning and 
ril be here by the night. No, not quite that perhaps; 
but anyhow Fd take the first train south.” 

'‘I should not think of sending for you, Willie; I 
hope I am not that kind of woman. And I shall get 
along perfectly, only I don’t know about having any one 
in the house.” She pondered and resumed : “ The 
hapless individuals who would put up with my vagaries 
for the sake of board and lodging aren’t the interesting 
sort. They are the feeble, futile sort. The sort that 
say ‘Oh, really?’ and ‘Indeed’ when it isn’t ‘Dear, 
I never should have thought of that ! ’ Poor Amelia 
was always telling me she ‘Never would have thought 
of that,’ when of course she wouldn’t, she never thought 
of anything. I think I’ll do without a satellite this 
year, Willie.” 

“ You don’t think ? ” he paused. 

“ What ? ” She saw he had something on his mind. 
“ It’s only the Thatchers and people,” said he, reluc- 
tantly. “ They don’t seem over-pleased about Ambrose 
coming to the cottage as it is ; I fancy they feel as if 
we had nabbed — I mean stolen their man. He was 
theirs, you know ; and now ” 

“ Well ? ” said Olivia smiling. 

“ I say, they don’t seem to count for much with him, 
do they ? When he heard that they would be away 
for most of his time here, he took it precious coolly. 
But if we, that is if you had been going, it would have 
been — he would never have come.” 

“We can’t help that. Mr. Ambrose knows who suit 
him and who don’t.” 

“ And you suit him, and I want you to see as much 
of him as ever you can, but if he is hanging about here 
all day ” — he stroked his chin thoughtfully. 


HE DOES FAG YOU RATHER 


129 


“ My dear Willie, he has come to the cottage to 
work. Hanging about ? I should say Mr. Ambrose is 
the last man to hang about anywhere.” 

“ He can’t work for more than a certain amount of 
hours, and then he’ll be up here like a shot. I know I 
should in his place.” 

“You yourself told him to come whenever he felt 
inclined.” 

“That’s all right; I’m delighted he should; but if 
you had some one stopping with you, it would shut 
people’s mouths. You know well enough what I mean, 
Olivia. There isn’t a man and there isn’t a woman 
living of whom things won’t be said if they sit in each 
other’s pockets. I know it’s ridiculous in this instance, 
but we must take the world as we find it.” 

“ Look here, Willie, I’ll tell you what I’ll do.” Rather 
to his surprise she did not flame up, but nodded a medi- 
tative assent. “ I’ll have the Rushington boy. That 
poor Algy who found it ‘ So sad to be going back to 
Town,’ ” mimicking Mrs. Rushington’s accents. 

“ I have had Algy more or less on my conscience 
ever since,” resumed Olivia, when the laugh had sub- 
sided. “ It seemed rather cruel to let him go, and 
watch his small white face diminishing to a speck in 
the distance. He alone never turned round as long as 
the motor was in sight ; and if it had not been for his 
aggressive mother’s persistency in trying to throw him 
into my lap, I could almost have held out my lap to 
him.” 

“So you are going to hold it out now?” Willie 
nodded contentedly, pleased with the turn things had 
taken, but careful as one who knew what brittle ice he 
had to tread upon. “ Well, it might do, you know.” 

“ Yes, it might do ; that is what I think. He would 
fit the gap. And Willie, he is really a nice boy, and 

9 


130 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

loves the country. If you had seen his eyes glisten 
when I took him round my garden ! He did not say 
much ; he never put a silly question ; but he quite 
seemed to feel it.” 

“Took your fetish as solemnly as you do yourself? 
That’s the style, that’s what fetched you. So if you don’t 
think he would be in your way ? ” 

“ — I am sure he wouldn’t. Besides, one can order a 
boy about, one needn’t be afraid of any touchiness. With 
Amelia I was always on the verge of giving offence.” 

“ I see. It is a capital notion altogether, and I only 
hope it will work. People are beginning to go out of 
Town now, but the Rushingtons are there all right, for 
I saw him yesterday. No doubt they would be only 
too glad to deposit the boy here, instead of lugging him 
about with them, and they are regular rush-abouts. 
Rush-about-Rushingtons they ought to be called.” 

“ Never satisfied to be still, always craving for 
excitement and change, the sort of people I detest,” 
assented Olivia, with unction. “That poor boy will be 
far happier with me than with them.” 

“ Of course he will. Shall I see Rushington about 
it ? Or ? ” — he paused suggestively. 

“ I will write,” said she — and there was a world of 
significance in the simple words. A month before she 
would not have spoken them ; she would have thrust 
the whole burden of the affair on to her husband’s 
shoulders, and yawned in his face when he tried to 
tell her about it afterwards. But a new alertness, a 
new energy had come to her. She could enjoy an 
effort, and rebel against being saved one. Once she 
exclaimed, “ It’s you who make me such a cipher, 
Willie ” — and Willie trod on air for an hour afterwards. 
It was the recollection of this petulance which prompted 
his “ Or? ” and look of interrogation ; instinct told him 


HE DOES FAG YOU RATHER 


that Olivia was not going to be made a cipher of on the 
present occasion. 

“ You will write, eh? Then I needn’t do anything. 
You will manage it all for yourself, and do it a deal 
better than I should. And it is most awfully good of 
you to bother with the boy ” 

“ — No, it isn’t ; it isn’t good at all ; ” she threw out 
her hands at him in her own pretty petulant way. “ I 
am merely making a convenience of Algy, because you 
think it as well that I should have somebody here while 
you are away ; ” she paused, and there was a faint suffu- 
sion in her cheek as she resumed, ‘‘ I should never 
have thought of it but for what you said about Mr. 
Ambrose.” 

“ You don’t mean — hang it all, Olivia, you can’t 
suppose I care if Ambrose is here every day and all day 
long? You needn’t look as if I had affronted you. 
Have Algy Rushington or not, as you please, but don’t 
put it on my thinking ” 

“ — But you did. You said people would talk.” 

“ Well, yes, I said that and say it still, but what’s 
talk ? ” 

“ Then why are we having Algy Rushington ? ” 

They were on the brink of a quarrel. 

But the next moment they were laughing at each 
other. “The idea of your thinking I could be jealous, 
ha, ha, ha ! ” cried he, enjoying the joke with the full 
power of his lusty lungs. “ You little humbug, as if 
I don’t know you in and out, and ha, ha, ha ! it is the 
rummest notion that.” 

“Ha, ha, ha!” chimed in she, gaily. “You have 
one saving merit, you dear old blunderbuss, you do 
understand your wife, which very few people do. As 
for making you jealous, you know I simply loathe that 
disgusting kind of folly. Still, for the sake of those 


132 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

noodles who don’t, and who would like very well to 
purse up their lips at one — we’ll have Algy Rushington.” 

“ Aye, we’ll have Algy Rushington,” assented he. 

And the note was despatched by the next post, and 
Olivia was especially gay and sweet that evening, and 
so sure of herself and pleased with every one else that 
she sang aloud as she stepped about among her flower- 
beds, doing their nightly watering. 

She was afraid of nothing, disturbed about nothing ; 
she foresaw a pleasant time instead of a dreary one 
while Willie was away ; and whereas hitherto she had 
always been glad when August was over, now August 
itself was to bring her many happy hours. 

The companionship of Philip Ambrose would be 
elevating and inspiring, but it steadied her in her own 
esteem to find that he did not on closer acquaintance 
always please her. He was deficient in matters of 
taste; he lacked imagination, poetry, sentiment — and 
she fancied despised them in others. Then his manners 
were uncertain ; he was not invariably polite even to- 
wards herself, while he could be openly indifferent to 
the feelings of others for whom he did not profess the 
same regard. 

He was impatient of contradiction, even of slow 
assent. Those he was with must agree at once, in- 
stantaneously, to any view he took of a case, or he brow- 
beat them. Once or twice Olivia felt obliged to excuse 
to herself certain roughnesses which rose to the surface 
now that its first \ gloss had worn off. She even told 
herself that Willie would never have spoken so. 

As for Mr. Ambrose’s personal appearance, it was 
certainly remarkable, but she found many flaws in it. 
His hair was too thin, his mouth too large, and she 
could never forget that Kitty disliked his long neck. 

Her husband might be broad and stout, but his 


HE DOES FAG YOU RATHER 


133 


mighty frame was firmly knit and his limbs were hard 
with muscle. Ambrose was loosely jointed, and had 
ungainly attitudes. He might not fold his hands across 
his waistcoat — indeed he had no waistcoat to speak of — 
but he sprawled, and twisted one leg round the other, 
and generally did not look his best when in the heat of 
conversation. 

On the other hand, how delightful, how wonderful 
could such conversation be ! Olivia really possessed the 
powers of mind wherewith she accredited herself. It 
was a pity that she was so conscious of them, but they 
were there, and enabled her to rise without an effort into 
the world where Philip Ambrose was at home and great. 

With almost feverish delight she drank in new 
thoughts and ideas ; and her reading, having been varied 
and extensive, had prepared the ground for the reception 
of these even on subjects that surprised her teacher. 
“You see my books have been my life,” said she — and 
then tried to explain away the admission, while he ap- 
plauded it. 

“You could not assimilate new theories as you do, 
if you had not given much time and attention to study. 
I cannot imagine why you should wish to deny that you 
have.” 

“ Because it is to no end. If I were like you and 
could give it out again ” 

“ Oh, that is not a woman’s place,” said Ambrose, 
loftily. 

He found Olivia fitting the very niche a woman 
should — able to appreciate but not to rival man, her 
master ; to talk to her was to gauge the effect of his 
words upon the world; to watch for the light in her 
eye which told that a problem had been solved or an 
argument hit the mark, was like waiting for the nods of 
his compeers. 


134 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

“ She will be invaluable to me,” he decided, when 
he had been up to The Willow House once or twice after 
taking up residence at the cottage, and while Willie 
Seaford was yet coming and going, with the day of his 
departure a week off; “and he is an acquisition too, 
with his excellent wines and cigars. A thorough earth- 
worm, but a good earthworm,” — and he lit one of the 
earthworm’s cigars with satisfaction. 

Once Olivia noticed that her husband was handled, 
so to speak, gingerly by fingers that did not scruple to 
snap at others, and she felt a blush of anger as she 
divined why ; he was under-rated, he was not worth 
crushing, and he had good cigars. She tried to make 
Willie talk big next time their friend was by, but poor 
Willie made rather a mess of it, and Olivia fancied 
Ambrose sneered. She rose and left them. 

“ I say, did I make a fool of myself? ” said Willie, 
later. “ I really was not such an ass as I seemed ; I 
knew perfectly well what you were at, but I was so 
anxious not to put my foot in it and vex you, that it 
made me jolly nervous, and I just went and did it.” 

“ I’m sure it was simple enough, Willie.” 

“ I daresay — to you. But I’m a slow chap, and 
Ambrose darts about like lightning. By the time I’ve 
caught up with him I look an ass.” 

“ And you are not an ass, and that was what I wanted 
to show him. You are not transcendently clever, but 
when you have time to think ” 

“ Aye, that’s it, give me time and let me chew the 
cud — but don’t startle me or I’m done for. Ambrose 
springs an idea upon a fellow, and expects him to grab 
it without a moment’s hesitation. However, you seem 
to be able to do this,” he paused admiringly. 

“ I suppose I was born so, Willie.” 

“Just so, some people are. Some are and some 


135 


“HE DOES FAG YOU RAtHER” 

aren’t ; ” profoundly. But you didn’t really mind, did 
you ? I say, I’ll get a book and read it up if you like? ” 

But he never got the book, nor was his knowledge of 
it put to the test. 

And then the “ Twelfth ” drew near, and husband 
and wife kissed “ Good-bye,” and the same dogcart that 
conveyed the former to the station, brought back his 
substitute in the shape of Algy Rushington. As fore- 
seen, no difficulties were raised in the shape of Algy’s 
coming, and there he was, and there was Mrs. Seaford 
waiting for him at the front door. “ And a deal better 
him than one of them dratted companion-women,” as- 
severated the servants — and “ A harmless nonentity,” 
pronounced Ambrose — and things settled themselves 
down on this basis at The Willow House. 

Only Colonel Thatcher put out his lips, and muttered 
beneath his moustache, while Lady Fanny was not 
sorry that Kitty was away, and hoped that the whole 
episode would be over and done with ere the neighbour- 
hood proper re-assembled in the autumn. 

“ I wish, however, I dared give Olivia the hint,” 
murmured she. But she did not dare. 


And from a dispassionate point of view, looking at 
Olivia simply as Olivia, without reference to whys and 
wherefores, there could be no doubt that she improved 
bodily and mentally in an astonishing way during the 
weeks that followed. 

Her languor, her self-absorption, her indulgence of 
every whim and fancy often to the inconvenience, if not 
to the actual distress, of others, were replaced by an 
activity, cheerfulness, and sweet reasonableness which 
none could fail to notice. 

The servants found their mistress considerate, a fact 
unknown in their annals hitherto. Their modest de- 


136 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

mands were promptly met, and what surprised them 
still more was a certain measure of interest taken in 
their concerns which had never before been manifested. 

Not that Olivia had ever been disliked by her house- 
hold, quite the contrary. She never interfered, nor 
scolded, nor pryed into the life below stairs; but all 
around her were her serfs, her slaves — not human 
beings with whom she could have any fellow-feeling 
— not men and women whose joys and sorrows could 
excite her interest or sympathy. 

It was said that she did not know some of them by 
sight, but this was probably an exaggeration ; neverthe- 
less Anne and Eliza were content to be regarded as the 
Anne and Eliza of The Willow House, whose separate 
existence, if they had such a thing, was an unknown 
quantity to their employer. 

The present Olivia even remembered that the little 
kitchen scrub had been away for her holiday when a 
curtsey was dropped her on the stairs one day, and 
hoped that Emma had enjoyed herself? She visited the 
coachman’s wife, who had had a baby, and allowed the 
rest of the children the use of the station cart for their 
summer treat, calling Algy to watch the little pack drive 
off. “ Like a nest of birds,” she said. 

Algy found his hostess all that was amiable and 
simple. In no time he learnt her ways and respected 
them, divined her feelings and shared them, and was 
often furious with Ambrose — but let us return to Am- 
brose. 

To him, of course, the above alteration in Olivia 
Seaford was due. On the evening when the two first 
met, he had indeed been struck, nay he had been abso- 
lutely subjugated by her charms, but as time went on 
every subsequent meeting revealed that while he still 
admired, and was willing, boldly, almost coarsely, to let 


HE DOES FAG YOU RATHER 


137 


it be seen that he did so, he expected a quid pro quo. 
He would whisper adulation, but he must have adulation 
back. Where he bestowed notice he demanded sub- 
servience. 

And gradually the latter scale descended in the 
balance. He gave less and exacted more. He was 
annoyed if any one were looked at or listened to but 
himself. His eyes would flash round for Olivia the 
instant he entered a circle, and if she were not there, 
betray it a desert — while it was worse still if she were, 
and were not instantly at his service. In that case his 
stern lips would scarce unseal themselves — while yet 
again if her attention wandered, were it but for a 
moment, during which he held forth to an audience, it 
mattered not who was listening, he stopped. Olivia, 
flurried and penitent, would have to stroke his ruffled 
plumage many times over ere she was forgiven. 

And this for a woman who had never been told she 
was in the wrong in her life ! This for one who had 
hitherto gone her dainty way untrammelled by the 
veriest gossamer thread of opposition ! This for one 
who considered her every glance a gratuity, and bare 
tolerance a favour ! 

Yet, the fact remained that Olivia, rebuked, inter- 
rupted, obliged to suspend what she was doing and at 
the will of another lay aside not merely pen or trowel 
but the desire itself to wield them, was presently a 
familiar Olivia to the inmates of The Willow House. 

Ambrose would hurry in so full of his own concerns, 
and so impatient to confide them, that he would arrive 
on the scene talking, barely touch her hand, and con- 
tinue talking—* her welcome— her bright face and pretty 
dress all thrown away upon him, and yet she durst not 
pout as she would have done with Willie. 

Nor could she say she was busy, even though every 


138 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

moment was precious, with a thunderstorm impending 
overhead ! She feared the thunder on his brow more 
than that of Jove. 

And of course she was flattered, honoured. With 
her own hands she had prepared his throne on the first 
occasion of his permitting it to be hoped he would deign 
to sit and write beneath their elms ; and he had spoken 
then of the “ Delicious shade,” and the “ Exquisite silence, 
broken only by the tap of the woodpecker or the chirp of 
the water-hen,” — but subsequently when the throne be- 
came a fixture, (consisting of the easiest chair in Willie’s 
smoking-room, together with his low table, his tantalus, 
and two bottles of his particular soda water), it appeared 
that the arrangement was not complete unless there were 
a chair for Olivia, too. He must have her — she must 
come. 

“ You do help me so wonderfully,” said he, in a good 
mind; “I have never before had any one to whom I 
could read my manuscript before sending it up ; for of 
course one does not care to let one’s ideas filter abroad 
through one’s friends in the same line, and they would 
be Greek and Latin to the common herd.” 

“ I am so proud to be of use,” said she, humbly. But 
her eyes glistened. Who does not like to be set apart 
from the common herd ? 

And Olivia’s weakest point was touched when Am- 
brose praised her understanding, and it was speeches 
such as the above which riveted his ascendency over 
her when occasionally it loosened a little. 

She had but to think, “ These pages will be read in 
the farthest ends of the earth, they will be discussed by 
the greatest men of our time,” to feel how mean and 
trifling was the spirit which would have grudged empty- 
ing itself to add one drop to the brimming fount whence 
genius flowed. 


HE DOES FAG YOU RATHER 


139 


N.B, — The Peculiar Book was enriched by this senti- 
ment, together with others of like nature, the entering 
of which never failed to soothe away any little sense of 
grievance on the part of O. S. the author in embryo. 

There were days when she had it on her lips to tell 
Ambrose about The Peculiar Book — days when he was 
mild and approachable, having despatched “Copy” at 
which he had been working at high pressure while 
others slept. 

“ You know you ought not to work at night,” Olivia 
would shake her head in a motherly way — but his answer 
would be prompt and sweet to her ear : “ If I did not, I 
should never know the intensity of repose, the perfection 
of bliss it is to rest here with you.” 

His phrases were always magniloquent, but magnilo- 
quence addressed to oneself does not sound foolish. 

In such an idle hour there might be the opportunity 
so longed for, yet shrunk from, of producing her own 
little venture, and once the opportunity came so near as 
almost to touch her. 

“ What is that in your hand ? ” quoth Ambrose, 
lazily. 

It was not precisely a common-looking book ; Olivia 
could not, we know, have written in a common-looking 
book, and she had transmitted several sheets of the paper 
which Willie had had made for her, into a vellum-bound 
volume, with a lock and key and her monogram engraved 
on the clasp, and brought it with her. 

“Oh, it’s — a book,” said she, the colour rising in 
her cheek. Surely he would ask what book ? 

“An album of sorts,” rejoined he; “what a craze 
there used to be for albums in the days when people 
never wrote nor thought of anything worth putting into 
them. I have one of my mother’s somewhere, full of 
the most awful drivel.” 


140 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

‘‘ What sort of drivel ? ” said Olivia, breathing fast, 
while her fingers held The Peculiar Book a little tighter. 

“ Birds and flowers and rubbish,” said Ambrose, 
succinctly. 

“ I don’t see why it need be ‘ Rubbish ’ because ” — 
but the speaker stopped, little tremors running down 
her back. She might let slip her secret if warmed to 
argue, and all at once she felt she must guard her secret 
at any price. “ Nature is not ‘ Rubbish,’ ” she wound 
up lamely. 

“ Certainly not, my dear lady, but what silly, senti- 
mental creatures write about it, often is.” He was now 
didactic and scornful. “ Natural history is a study 
worthy any man’s intellect, but to gush about ‘ The 
feathered songsters of the wood ’ ” 

“ — Which poets have done.” 

“ And would-be poets think they can do — but they 
can’t. They are simply mawkish.” He twisted his 
legs and pursued the thought, perceiving nothing. “ I 
have no patience with petty scribblers; what do they 
want to scribble for? To see their names in print, to 
make their friends stare, to feed their superabundant 
vanity ” 

“No, no. You are too severe.” Olivia tried to 
speak lightly. “ Books which may not appeal to you 
may yet have something in them.” 

“ If they had, they would appeal to me; I can ap- 
preciate merit wherever it is to be found,” retorted he, 
somewhat nettled. “ Poetry may not be my own line, 
but I can admire good poetry for all that. It is a mis- 
take to suppose that one is blind to excellence because 
it happens to take a form — you cannot call me narrow- 
minded?” — he interrupted himself and looked for a dis- 
claimer. 

“We were not talking of excellence,” murmured 


HE DOES FAG YOU RATHER 


Olivia, evasively. “ I know your standard is very 
high,” continued she, with an effort, “and perhaps it 
makes you — don’t mind my saying so — a little intoler- 
ant. You want the best of everything.” 

“ I do ; yes, I do. Emphatically I do ; and I would 
see the remainder swept from the face of the earth. 
For instance, your album there — it is an album, is it 
not ? ” 

“Not exactly,” she faltered, and let her handkerchief 
drop over it as if by accident ; she was in, terror now 
lest he should become curious. 

“ It is that kind of thing, at any rate. Oh, Mrs. 
Seaford, I thought better things of you. You are con- 
tent with dross when you might have gold. You — let 
me see — I shall speculate as to what you have got there 
bound so elaborately, and clasped and locked too, ye 
gods ! Oh, you blush, you blush,” he laughed exultant ; 
“ your conscience pricks you. Isn’t it so? You have 
a number of pretty little extracts written out in your 
own charming handwriting, arrayed in order and neatly 
indexed ; and instead of offering your mind strong and 
strengthening food, you let it swim in pap ” 

“At least I shan’t inflict the pap upon you.” 
Olivia rose and tried to smile, though her lips quivered 
a little. “ And I think you are rather cruel, Mr. Am- 
brose. You would silence every voice that cannot give 
out great utterances. You do not consider that the 
little grasshoppers along the hedgerows can make 
pleasant sounds ” 

“ Oh, bother the grasshoppers ! ” said Ambrose, 
rudely. 

But presently Olivia saw him coming after her as 
she made her way into the house, and she had barely 
time to huddle The Peculiar Book into her writing-table 
and shut and lock the drawer, ere he was in the room. 


142 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

Come to beg pardon,” said he, like a sheepish school- 
boy. And of course he obtained the pardon, and Olivia 
felt afterwards as if she had had a cold bath and was all 
the better for it. 

And she told herself that Ambrose could not possibly 
have suspected the pain he was giving, and that she 
had been unwarrantably sensitive to his strictures. He 
was so accustomed to writing in powerful and authorita- 
tive language, that insensibly he slid into the use of 
strong terms and phrases on inadequate occasions, and 
when the laceration of the victim was the last thing 
intended. He looked upon her now as his disciple, 
took pains with her, and felt an interest in her — naturally 
when he regarded her as in fault he spoke out plainly, 
and she ought not to have minded such speaking. 

It hurt, but she could surely endure sharp medicine 
administered for her good. Nay, she would profit by it 
and The Peculiar Book should likewise profit by it. 

She need not give up the book ; she was not so com- 
pletely impregnated with her master’s wisdom as to 
consider his withering sarcasms a dead blight on it, but 
she would certainly be more careful and discriminating 
in future. She would eliminate certain passages — they 
rose before her as she mused — and reconstruct others. 
Perhaps — but she would not build on this — still perhaps 
even Philip Ambrose might not scorn some day what 
others found worthy of praise. 

She discovered that he disliked women celebrities. 

Of course, they do now and then attain eminence,” 
conceded he, “ but generally speaking, an ordinarily 
clever man can produce better work than an extraordin- 
arily clever woman. I am not denying that the sex can 
possess great ability, occasionally genius ; how could I 
in your presence?” (whereat Olivia dropped her eyes) ; 
“ but I contend that she is not, or would be better not 


HE DOES FAG YOU RATHER 


143 


to be, mentally productive. Her productions are not 
needed ; they are superfluous ; she should confine her- 
self to the receptive and appreciative attitude, in which 
she shines.” 

“ Also I presume to the domestic sphere,” said 
Olivia, with a suspicion of irony in her tone. 

“Why, yes, where there is a domestic sphere, but I 
was thinking rather — frankly I was thinking of yourself. 
You could not be condemned to running after servants, 
and teaching them how to beat carpets.” 

“ Which they know much more about than I do.” 

“ Precisely. You would be wasted ; but on the 
other hand, should you in any fit of mental aberration 
conceive the idea of giving the public your views on 
subjects in general — not that I should ever for a moment 
suppose you would, but we will take it as a case in 
point — you would to my mind let yourself down from 
the high level on which you stand at present. You are 
gifted with remarkably acute powers of discernment — 
pray forgive my being personal, it is such a pleasure to 
say for once what one is always thinking — and your 
assimilative faculties are so keen and original, that you 
absorb my thoughts and apprehend my meanings as no 
one has ever done before. Now that I take to be the 
supreme attitude to which a woman can attain. It is 
— it is — the greatest enjoyment my life has ever known 
to be with you,” he added, softly. 

But once he took her by the arm. Olivia drew it 
away and walked on the other side of the path. It was 
some minutes before she spoke. And then she called 
Algy to her and kept the boy at her side for the remain- 
der of the afternoon, despite the hints of Ambrose and 
the obvious fume upon his brow. 

“What did you do that for?” he demanded re- 
proachfully next day. “Why did you insist upon 


144 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

plaguing the boy with my dry compositions? They 
would be as dry as dust to him, and if it was your way 
of intimating that you too are weary of them ” 

“Oh, no; indeed, no;” cried Olivia, startled. He 
looked so troubled and perplexed, and was so genuinely 
unconscious of the real cause of offence, that she smiled 
brightly into his face, a great relief in her heart. 

He, however, continued gloomy. “ I can’t think 
of any other reason. You know how precious your 
companionship is to me, and how I grudge sharing it 
with any one, and yet you gave that boy the whole of 
your attention ! ” 

“ No, no,” she murmured, gently. 

“ You fidgetted over your flower-baskets with him, 
and I could never be sure you were listening to me at 
all.” 

“ I was, indeed I was ; but it was such a perfect day 
for drying my lavender, and there was such a quantity 
of it, that I should never have got through but for Algy. 
And really it only employed our fingers, not our minds.” 

But she did not again bring lavender out to dry, and 
was so obliging and sweet-tempered and submissive for 
the next few days, that she seemed to Algy as though 
she had really no will of her own. 

“ I say, he does fag you, doesn’t he? ” 

For some time previously the boy had been secretly 
raging at this, and the black looks of Ambrose on the 
lavender day had not been lost upon him. Could he, 
would it be possible for him to stir up Olivia to rebel ? 

“ Fag me? ” said she, stopping short. 

“ Of course, it’s all right if you like it ; but if you 
don’t ? ” He looked wistfully. 

“ My dear Algy ! ” Olivia began by laughing, but 
ended by drawing herself up. “It is an honour to do 
anything for Mr. Ambrose,” she said, proudly. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE. 

“When I am alone I often think over what we have 
been talking about,” said Olivia one day to her inevit- 
able companion, “ and though I cannot always agree 

with you — in your views about women for instance ” 

she paused. 

“ Ah, you will come round to them in the long run,” 
predicted he, confidently. 

“ I don’t think I shall ; ” a little touch of opposition 
made itself felt. “ I am inclined to think I shall not.” 

“ You will ; I know you will. Shall I tell you why? 
It is because you are above the petty foibles of your 
sex. Were I to be as frank with the ordinary woman 
as I am with you, she would — let me see what she would 
do. First take the huff, then sulk, and finally cut my 
acquaintance. Not one in a thousand would have 
sufficient openness of mind to accept my classification, 
and that one would hardly have the magnanimity to 
endorse it.” 

“But I don’t endorse it.” Olivia waved her fan 
with a bewitchingly rebellious air. “ It seems to me 
that it -savours too much of the bashaw ; you would 
paralyse all our activities except such as minister directly 

to your comfort, or ” she hesitated. “ Or ? ” said he, 

enjoying a conflict in which he felt sure of coming off 
the victor. “Or?” 


145 


10 


146 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“ Or vanity.” 

“Vanity?” Ambrose started as if he had been 
stung. “Vanity, did you say? Vanity?” — accentu- 
ating the word with each repetition. Such a thing 
had never been said to him before. 

Olivia, however, was not destitute of courage. “ That 
is what it amounts to,” maintained she, steadily. “ A 
man is a very vain animal, Mr. Ambrose. He cannot 
do without a great deal of flattery. He cannot endure 
rivals.” She laughed as she spoke, and took off the 
edge of her attack thereby, but it was sufficient to dis- 
concert him nevertheless. 

“Are you generalising, or not?” he demanded, 
bluntly. 

“ Of course I am generalising.” 

“ And this is the result of mature consideration ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

He pondered a minute. “ You may be right, Mrs. 
Seaford. It is a fact that we need sympathy, apprecia- 
tion, consolation — but flattery? I wish you had not 
said flattery.” 

“Why?” She looked him full in the face, and 
waited calmly for his answer. Undeniably at the 
moment she was mistress of the situation. 

“ Because it is so seldom that a woman generalises,” 
Ambrose continued to look annoyed, “that I cannot 
help thinking, help fearing that you had some particular 
man in your eye when you thus spoke ; and if you have 
been flattering me? ” 

“Oh, don’t look so grave upon.it, Mr. Ambrose.” 
She tossed her fan sticks about with a saucy, rallying 
air. “ What if I have ? Is it not something to be worth 
flattering ? Flattery is a very valuable commodity ; I 
only keep a small stock, and of a choice kind ; I am 
not likely to waste it on any but a favoured customer.” 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 147 

“You think I ought even to be grateful ? ” 

“ Very grateful and — flattered. Look back upon 
the past weeks. Can you deny that you have had my 
whole time and attention and forethought and after- 
thought ? You have already owned that you have never 
before had such a dose of good things from one of our 
inferior sex. Well ? ” 

“But if you call it ‘Flattery’ you rob it of all its 
charm. I had hoped we were one in spirit ; that our 
interests were identical ; that this delightful interchange 
of thought, which has been so much to me, had been 
equally prized by you. I am disappointed.” 

“The question is,” said Olivia, quietly, “whether 
you have in reality looked upon it as ‘ Interchange of 
thought?’ You have instructed and enlightened 
but what have I done iovyou ? ” 

“ Given me what I need more than anything else 
in the world, sympathy and encouragement,” rejoined 
he, with animation. “ Supported by these tranquil days, 
I enter nightly on my arduous labours with all my powers 
at their best. I seldom need to rewrite a page, my brain 
has been so clear and my senses so keen when at work.” 
“ I have acted as a soporific then ? ” 

“ No, as a stimulant. Your very presence — Mrs. 
Seaford, may I say what your presence conveys to me ? 
It is like a soft strain of music.” 

“And you know you hate music;” she laughed, 
and the laugh jarred. “ Pray think of some other 
metaphor. Liken me to something you really do care 
for ; an interesting fossil, for instance, or the delicious 
neck-bone of an antediluvian lizard. How exhilarat- 
ing would be the proximity of a chalk-pit full of remains ! 
Do say I give you a faint reflection of the joy you 
would derive from a whole and complete skeleton em- 
bedded in a chalk-pit.” 


10 


148 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“ You do,” said he unexpectedly, and her mocking 
eye fell beneath his. “ A truer word was never spoken 
in jest. I was a fool to talk of music, for which, as you 
rightly remind me, I care but little— but a discovery, a 
revelation, some grand conception of nature — those 
are the things that stir my blood. And you are a dis- 
covery, a revelation — and a most perfect and finished 
conception of nature,” he added, his voice suddenly 
softening till it dropped almost to a whisper. 

You are very kind,” said Olivia, a little tremu- 
lously. “ I think I will go in now,” and she rose and 
left him. All the spirit of antagonism wherewith she 
had sat down vanished, all her resolution to shake off 
the yoke he had laid upon her gave way. 

She had intended to throw Ambrose back a pace ; to 
let him see that she was not hoodwinked into supposing 
that he treated her or felt for her as an intellectual equal, 
while at the same time she was willing to continue his 
friend and comrade — in short to settle definitely the 
position he was to take up, which had been fluctuating 
of late. 

But now, as she slowly walked towards the house, 
she avoided Algy, who crouched in an arbour half-way, 
and took a path which led away from the gardeners busy 
with their pruning-hooks. Did they notice anything, 
she wondered ? 

Did they comment among themselves and look 
knowingly at the two figures so often heard and seen 
for hours together beneath the big elm-tree ? 

“ A most perfect and finished conception of nature.” 
Ambrose, to do him justice, had never addressed 
Olivia in such a strain before, and even now the words 
seemed rather the involuntary admission of his heart 
than to be consciously uttered. 

Nevertheless she believed she ought to be angry 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 149 

with him ; a man ought not to speak so to another 
man’s wife. He may tell her how congenial is her 
society and how superior her understanding, but it was 
neither Olivia’s understanding nor her companionship 
which elicited that deep-breathed, almost inaudible 
murmur. 

Was it then a transgression such as his touch 
upon her arm had been ? She hoped it was ; she was 
sure it was ; she was sure she took it so. 

Had she not risen at once and left him, offering no 
excuse lest he should fail to see the intended rebuke ? 
What more could she have done ? To have flared up 
and made a scene would have been impossible, simply 
impossible. 

His consternation and bewilderment — for of course 
he meant no harm — would have been too awful to con- 
template ; and her quiet action permitted no ground for 
complaint, was surely enough in itself? She felt that 
she had been delicate, adroit — and yet she felt dis- 
satisfied. 

It would not do to have a repetition of these awkward 
breaches of etiquette which had only actually taken 
place twice, but which had been vaguely in the air — yes, 
she now knew that they had been in the air — of late. 
She must be more careful, more distant — but she had 
warned herself to be more distant several times before. 
Did that mean that she was weak ? How detestable to 
be weak ! 

Anon a sense of pity stole over her. The poor man 
was so lonely, and so obviously just awakened to his 
loneliness; insensibly a warmer feeling than he was 
aware of had gained upon him in regard to herself. He 
had no intention of behaving ill ; he would have been 
shocked at the bare approach of indiscretion. 

But it was annoying, distressing; she would give 


ISO THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

the gentleman time to cool down ere she saw him 
again ; and she stepped within doors, and there lay a 
telegram from Willie on the hall-table I 

Olivia stood still and looked at the telegram. 


ril be hanged if that over there hasn’t been going 
on ever since we were away 1 ” 

Colonel Thatcher burst into his wife’s presence, and, 
after a hasty glance round to make sure that no one else 
was present, threw himself into an armchair and con- 
tinued : “ It has, confound it ; what d’ye say to that ? ” 

“ What do you mean, my dear ? ” Lady Fanny knew 
perfectly what he meant, but she had to gain time. 

“Why, that flirtation between Olivia and Philip 
Ambrose, to be sure. I didn’t like the look of things 
when we left; I thought it was a bad job his planting 
himself down at their gates — especially when Seaford 
was to be absent, — but you were so cocksure there was 
nothing in it, and somehow I was taken in myself by 
the plausible face put on the affair. However, there it 
is, and there is no bilking the fact. He is up at The 
Willow House every day and all day long, and we 
know what that means with Madam Olivia, who won’t 
see a soul unless she chooses, and shuts the door in all 
our faces with the coolness of a sphinx.” 

“ Olivia has always maintained that she would be 
more neighbourly if ” 

“If she could bring a man to heel and keep him 
there. She has done that now with a vengeance.” 

Lady Fanny looked annoyed, but would not speak, 
and he proceeded with gusto. 

“ And Philip Ambrose, of all people ! Ambrose, who 
was by way of being so immersed in his books that he 
never looked at a petticoat ; he to be dangling after a 
married woman ! ” 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 15 1 

“ Impossible. You are certainly mistaken. Recol- 
lect that you have been mistaken before ; and, John, 
you promised me not to be so hasty again in passing 
judgment on Olivia. You cannot deny that you felt 
yourself in the wrong.” 

“ Did I ? Not a bit of me. I was thrown off the 
scent, that was all. You don’t know that young lady 
yet, Fanny ; take my word for it you don’t. She gam- 
mons Kitty of course, but one would have thought you, 
at your age, would have had more sense. It’s all that 
high-flown jargon about her flowers and her fal-de-rals 
that imposes upon you, and you will never believe ” 

“ I will never believe that Olivia could forget her 
wifely duty,” said Lady Fanny, firmly. “She is heed- 
less of appearances, and might be led to step beyond 
the bounds of decorum, but her conduct hitherto has 
been irreproachable, and it is unjust to leap to conclu- 
sions because of a little imprudence, supposing there 
has been imprudence.” 

“You may take your oath on it there has been im- 
prudence,” growled he. “And it won’t stop at that.” 

“ You forget the characters of the two you speak of. 
Neither Mr. Ambrose nor Olivia Seaford are people to, 
to — they mutually find each other attractive, that is all.” 

“ You don’t know India, my lady. You haven’t seen 
the devil at work there. I tell you I have watched this 
soul-and-afflnity business work up over and over again. 
I have watched it from start to finish, and the finish is 
a damned ugly affair. What is Seaford about, that he 
leaves a wife like his to her own devices ? Why doesn’t 
he come home and look after her ? ” 

“ My dear John, how should I know? He does not 
consult me.” Lady Fanny naturally resented being 
made accountable for Willie Seaford’s misdeeds. “ They 
can manage their own affairs without our intervention, 


152 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


I suppose,” she added with unusual asperity, telling 
herself that it was too bad, quite too bad, that she should 
be taken to task on account of people who were no more 
her friends than her husband’s, and that the person who 
had really started all this unpleasantness was Kitty, who 
had got out of hand altogether over Olivia and Ambrose. 

Kitty had exulted in the cottage scheme ; finding it 
the most perfect, the most ideal arrangement ; applaud- 
ing it loudly before Ambrose, and defending it with equal 
vigour behind his back. Perhaps if she had not been 
herself on the eve of departure for a round of visits, she 
might not have been so exuberant — but Lady Fanny 
had insisted on the visits, and to be sure they were 
tempting, and the only prospective drawback before Mr. 
Ambrose came on the scene had been a fear, a delicious 
fear, lest Olivia should miss her. 

It would have been terrible not to be missed — but 
again, if her beautiful proud Olivia should be suffering 
with sealed lips ? “I wonder if you mind my going ? ” 
Kitty adventured timidly one day — and was not quite 
satisfied with the answer she received. Olivia was by 
nature truthful. 

With Philip Ambrose, however, snugly installed at 
Pump Cottage, Kitty could give a final embrace with 
only a few tears, and was good-humouredly taunted by 
her father afterwards in that she could part with her 
divinity so lightly. 

‘‘ You have provided a substitute, eh ? ” 

“And the silly little fool did nothing but talk about 
Olivia all that evening,” said the colonel now, a 
murmur of “ Kitty ” having escaped his lips. “ I grant 
you she had more hand in setting this business going 
than you had.” 

“More!” Her ladyship’s spirit rose. Away from 
her husband she was a woman of decision, and could 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 153 

lay down the law quite briskly in an assemblage of 
matrons — but he so habitually overshot the mark in 
his conclusions, and stirred up so much dust whenever 
he was on the rampage, that calmness and mildness 
were necessary on her part if he were to be kept within 
bounds at all. She could, however, be exasperated on 
occasion, and she was so now. She had an affection for 
Olivia Seaford which had withstood much trial and 
disappointment, — for the penetration which had dis- 
covered the root of the evil, perceived what might have 
been and what still lay dormant in a character yet un- 
disciplined, and continually at variance with its best 
instincts, — wherefore she told herself that she would 
never cease to hope. 

Nevertheless, Lady Fanny declined to be held re- 
sponsible for Olivia’s actions as Olivia now was. 
“ More! ” she exclaimed, accordingly. “ I had nothing 
to do with this move, nothing whatever. I disapproved 
of it as you did. It appeared to me too hastily con- 
cluded and ill-judged altogether. But I confess ” 

she paused. 

“ Well ? ” said he. “ Eh ? Well ? What do you 
confess ? ” 

“ That I was not sorry to have Kitty discover that 
she was not so indispensable to her friend as she im- 
agined. I fancied that Olivia’s equanimity over their 
separation might have this effect.” 

“ Did it ? Had our girl the sense to see herself how 
things were ? I had as soon she didn’t, you know.” 

“ One doesn’t want her mixed up with anything of 
that kind.” 

“ If you refer to Mr. Ambrose, Kitty saw nothing, 
for there was nothing to see,” maintained Lady Fanny 
steadily. 

“ But you said you hoped ” 


154 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

“Only that, it being obvious Olivia had accepted a 
new friend as a companion of her leisure hours, our 
child should abate a little of her furore for her,” said 
Lady Fanny, with a wearied air. “ My dear, it is of 
no use our going over and over the same ground. We 
do not agree, and we shall not agree about it. And I 
am very busy this morning.” She turned away, and 
though he called after her, he could not stay her 
steps. 

Later in the day, however, he tried again, having 
added to his stock of information in the meantime. 

“ I say, Fanny ? ” 

“Well?” said she. 

“ You shut me up whenever I mention Olivia Sea- 
ford’s name.” 

“ Oh, dear, is it Olivia again ? ” She made a gesture 
of impatience. 

“ I was only going to tell you ” 

“ Some more tittle-tattle of the busybodies which 
you had much better keep to yourself, since you like it, 
and I don’t.” 

“Tittle-tattle, indeed!” rejoined he, affronted. 
“ Highty-tighty ; you are in a temper to-day. And I 
only thought it would please you to hear that Willie 
Seaford returns to-night.” 

“Why should it please me?” said Lady Fanny, 
coldly. “ What are Mr. Seaford’s movements to me ? 
I told you before that I considered him competent to 
manage his own affairs, and that, if not, at any rate he 
did not ask my advice concerning them.” 

“Come now, you know what I mean.” He grew 
more and more gentle ; her handling of the old soldier 
was masterly. “You know what I mean, and you are 
glad as I am that there should be an end of this folly. 
It mayn’t have got any great length as yet — you say it 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 155 

hasn’t, and perhaps you are right — but anyhow, Willie’s 
return will put a stopper on it. I can tell you I was 
very well pleased to see the Seafords’ dog-cart at the 
station ; so I just strolled up to it, and put a question 
casually, and the man said he was there to meet his 
master. I nearly waited to shake hands, but thought it 
might look as if I wanted a lift back. So I hurried 
home to tell you, thinking it would be good news for 
you,” he wound up in an aggrieved tone. 

But he was not yet ripe for Lady Fanny’s coup, and 
she listened ungraciously. The whole purport of this 
is that Olivia Seaford’s only safeguard is her husband’s 
presence, and you expect me to concur in that. Then 
all that I have said on the subject hitherto has been 
thrown away. Time will show whose is the correct 
estimate of this poor girl, yours or mine — and, till it 
does, let us hold our peace.” 

“ Tut, we can’t help talking about her, if you mean 
that. She’s a personage, confound her ; Olivia Seaford 
is a personage. There isn’t a house in the neighbour- 
hood where her sayings and doings are not discussed. 
By dint of sheer contempt for us all she has made a 
position for herself she would never have got into other- 
wise — that’s to say, of course, she’s good-looking and 
clever, and has a kind of distinction — give her her due, 
she has certainly an air of distinction, you’d take her 
for a Somebody anywhere — still it’s the contempt that’s 
done it. It’s her utter indifference to public opinion 
that gives zest to every scrap of news about her goings 
on. People will simply run to tell each other about this 
of Ambrose.” 

“You are right, they will,” said Lady Fanny 
quietly. 

“ It’s her own look-out, you know. If a woman 
gives a handle to gossip, she has only herself to thank if 


156 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

everybody she has ever shirked being civil to has a turn 
at that handle.” 

“ I repeat you are right, John.” 

“Right? Well, Fm glad you own it; but go on. 
What else ? ” For she had obviously more to say and 
he was dying to hear it. 

“ Unless you and I, together, stem the tide of ill- 
natured chatter, there will be a construction put upon 
Olivia Seaford’s intimacy with Mr. Ambrose which is 
not to be thought of. You yourself in your cooler 
moments would shrink from it ; and what you have now 
to do is to speak out boldly, at once, on this thoughtless 
girl’s behalf.” 

“ Gad ! You wish me to perjure myself? ” 

“ Oh, no ; ” said Lady Fanny, smiling. 

“ I’m to say I don't believe there’s anything wrong 
when \ do? That is — upon my soul, I don’t know 
what I do believe,” he muttered confusedly, twirling 
his moustache ; then suddenly looked up with a happy 
thought. “ Of course, I could quote If you wish 

me to quote you, I’ll do it. I’ll say ‘ Lady Fanny sees 
nothing amiss,’ eh ? ” 

“An excellent idea, John.” 

“ Aye, I can say that.” He brightened up. “ That 
would be a rare piece of diplomacy. I’ll be bound it 
would do the trick. But mind you, I don’t alter my 
opinion.” He frowned and shook his head. “ Mind you 
that, my lady, — and it’s rather a rum kind of morality 
to be hurling your judgment at people’s heads when it’s 
the exact contrary of my own. However, that’s your 
affair. You say that I’m to stand up for this protegee 
of yours — my faith ! she would jib at the word, but she 
is nothing else, if you take her up and make me take 
her up. So I’ll run her as your protegee, he-he-he! 
If I’m to run her at all. I’ll have some fun out of it; if 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 157 

Pm to stick up for her — ” he drew a breath and added 
stoutly: “Well, ril do it.” 

Whereat she smiled again, and nodded at him and 
applauded him, not surprised as another might have 
been at this swift change of front, for Lady Fanny had 
seen many another such before. All along she had 
been biding her time, and patience had at length her 
reward. 

Let us now return to The Willow House, where we 
left Olivia staring at her husband’s telegram on the hall- 
table. 

But why should she thus stand still and stare ? She 
knew it was coming, was expecting it, had been expect- 
ing it for days. The inevitable precursor of Willie’s 
return was due, and she had been forewarned of its 
appearance. He had stayed away his full time, his 
exact time, but no more than his time — why then should 
his precision in adhering to dates be felt a surprise ? 
And yet she was sure that it was only surprise which 
made her hesitate to open the yellow envelope. 

Somehow she had taken it for granted that it would 
not come that day. There had been nothing about its 
peaceful hours to betray their end so near, and she had 
inwardly owned to a certain reluctance towards admit- 
ting it could be so. 

It was now five o’clock, and the traveller would arrive 
at seven. Olivia moved slowly towards a chair and sat 
down. 

What made her all at once so weak and nerveless ? 
What was she doing dreaming there? She ought to 
have been alert, joyful, ringing bells, giving orders — 
telling every one the good news — Algy, Ambrose — at 
the conscious thought of Ambrose a sensation she could 
not define made her veins tingle. 

And her head drooped, and her hands locked them- 


158 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

selves together on her lap. Yet why? And why? 
And again, why? ‘‘ Because I am a fool.” Suddenly 
she sprang up, flushed and frowning. “ If I did not 
know myself I should almost suppose I had received a 
shock. Willie’s coming a shock ! ” — she forced a laugh 
— “My poor old Willie!” She took up a book and 
threw it on the table. 

“ I’m glad, of course I’m glad ; I’m always glad when 
Willie comes home. If it had only been to-morrow — or 
next day — or ” She paused and continued reso- 

lutely. “ What I dislike is change. Change of any 
sort ; abrupt transitions ; things happening all in a 
moment without one’s being prepared. We have led 
such a droning life of late — nothing to alter it, nothing 

to vary it that — that ” Another pause. . . . “ The 

truth is I have not been thinking about Willie ; and there 
have been so many other things to think of that this is 
a little disquieting — no, not that, but startling, upsetting 
— and I never could bear to be upset. . . . One gets 
into a groove, and my groove — oh, it hasn’t been an 
altogether smooth nor easy one, and it has absorbed me. 
Willie would understand ; he would never be so stupid, 
so mean, so cruel, as to put a false construction — I could 
explain it to him with the greatest ease.” . . . Another 
pause. “ He told me to make a companion of Mr. Am- 
brose, and he must know that I could not do that, that 
I never can do anything by halves. It is Willie’s doing 
if I have allowed this man to wind himself into my inner 
life — but I haven’t, I haven’t.” She struck the table 
with her soft, ringed hand, and the rings made a sharp 
sound, for the oak was bare — whereat she examined 
them attentively. 

As she did so, she seemed to see two faces looking 
at her — the one her husband’s, gentle, tender, solicitous 
— the other that of Philip Ambrose, indifferent, impa- 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 159 

tient. Yes, she could see his thin-veiled irritation, the 
glance she knew so well. She had hurt herself once 
against a garden-roller, and though she had been unable 
to keep the tears out of her eyes, he had complained 
of her inattention to what he was saying and muttered 
something about “A trifle” in a contemptuous under- 
tone. Yet shortly afterwards she had made an apt 
quotation which called forth his warmest encomiums, 
and he had looked at her as though she were the one 
woman in the world. 

Once the letter of a great scientific authority was 
produced, wherein Ambrose was congratulated on the 
benefit he was obviously deriving from the companion- 
ship of his “ Talented friend,” and there was a hint that 
the writer had not been favoured with the friend’s name. 
“ One does not reveal one’s choicest secrets,” said Am- 
brose, folding up the letter. 

“Choicest secrets” — she dwelt upon the phrase 
afterwards. 

He will feel, as I do, that this has come upon us 
rather suddenly,” murmured she, now. “It is as well 
that it should come, perhaps. We were growing some- 
how to depend upon each other; and when he made 
me angry, as he often did — oh, it is past, it is past — I 
am talking of it already in the past,” she cried, and 
caught her breath; “it will never come again — and I 
would not have it come again — but only if it had not 
ended like this ! ” . . . 

She broke off and resumed more steadily : “ If this 
had been an ordinary day, I could have gone out and 
told Mr. Ambrose about Willie quite cheerfully, — but 
he knows that I am vexed with him, that I left him 
abruptly without the shadow of an excuse ; it would be 
in wretched taste to be exuberant over Willie’s telegram 
while he is smarting under such a rebuff. For it was a 


i6o THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


rebuff; I meant it as a rebuff; and he saw, he must 
have seen, that I did. Now if I were to go back ? ” — she 
hesitated and considered. 

Should she return to the elm-tree and say nothing 
of what had occurred ? Should she make her friend 
happy once more in her forgiveness, and part from him 
with smiles ? Or must the shadow of the bygone moment 
lie across the future, never to be wiped away ? 

Again she sank down upon a seat, and dejectedly 
leaned her head upon her hand, but in another minute 
was up and stamping on the floor. “This is extrava- 
gant, ridiculous; what am I thinking of to make so 
much of a mere nothing — not even a quarrel, scarcely 
a coolness ? His language was too bold, and I checked 
it, and was right to check it ; he will be more circum- 
spect in future. . . . The future ? There is no future. 
And, Willie dear, there never shall be either a future or 
a past again” — tears gushed from her eyes — “Willie, 
dear Willie, never again, never again,” whispered Olivia, 
wiping them from her cheeks. “ Oh, Willie, don’t. 
Don’t look at me.” She covered her face and sobbed ; 
then tore the wet handkerchief in pieces and hid the 
pieces. But she did not go back to the garden. 


When Thomas answered the drawing-room bell a 
quarter of an hour later, Mrs. Seaford was bending over 
her desk with her back towards him, but she gave her 
orders in her own clear, deliberate accents. 

“ Your master is arriving by the seven o’clock train. 
Let them know in the stables to send the dog-cart to 
meet him. Let the cook know also, Thomas ; and the 
cart can fetch anything she wants. We shall dine at 
the usual hour. And, Thomas?” 

“ Yes, ma’am,” said Thomas, radiant. 

“ Where is Mr. Rushington ? ” 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE i6i 


“ Coming in now, ma’am ; ” Thomas cast a glance 
from the window. 

“Oh,” said Olivia, “that is all then,” — and she 
snatched up the telegram, and stepped out on to the 
balcony, leaning over as Algy drew near. 

“Would you mind taking a message for me, Algy? 
It is only to tell Mr. Ambrose that I am not coming out 
again,” as he signified a ready assent. “ My husband 
has wired he is on his way home. I am so busy — there 
are things to see to ” 

“ I say, that’s jolly.” Algy threw up his cap with a 
joyful shout. “ Have you only just heard ? ” 

“ Only when I came in.” She hoped he had not 
seen her come in. “And I have to prepare, — to give 
directions, — to — to — but you will tell Mr. Ambrose, will 
you ? ” And she turned to withdraw, having held a 
rose to her face all the time. A full-blown rose covers 
a good deal of face. 

“ I’ll tell Ambrose — and jolly well glad to tell him 
too,” sotto voce subjoined the lame boy, chuckling as he 
limped away. “ I wouldn’t miss his lugubrious looks for 
something. But she's all right. Why does she let her- 
self be bullied and badgered by him, I wonder ? He’s a 
beast, and I hate him,” kicking a pebble from his path. 
“He has never a civil word for the rest of us, but just 
claws her heels, or rather makes her claw his, and — 
and — but I say, I don’t think there’ll be much more 
clawing now,” and nodding congratulations to himself, 
he shuffled along jubilantly. 

As he drew near the elm-tree encampment, however, 
Algy’s pace slackened. Ambrose was gazing in another 
direction, and suddenly recalled from abstruse calcula- 
tions might justifiably pounce upon an intruder. With- 
in his own bosom, indeed, the intruder could flout the 
great man, but that was a very different thing from 

II 


i 62 the enlightenment of OLIVIA 


interrupting him in a studious reverie which he could 
not but regard with awe — an awe fostered by Olivia, 
who was always impressive on the subject. 

“ He has forgotten all about her ; he doesn’t really 
care two hangs about her,” muttered the boy, his steps 
dragging more and more. “ Of course he’s beastly clever 
and all that, but what on earth she sees in him to bother 
about — and why should he be told she isn’t coming out 
again?” he broke off sharply. “He’s thinking about 
his beastly book, not about her — yet she doesn’t like to 
tell him, so she sent me. Anyhow, I’ll just chuck it at 
him and bolt,” — and taking his courage in both hands, 
he made a dash for the tree. 

“ I say, sir ? ” 

Ambrose turned his head, his lips still moving. 

“ Sorry to interrupt you, but Mrs. Seaford told me 
to say she wasn’t coming out again, and Mr. Seaford 
will be here directly;” having blurted out which at 
the top of his voice the speaker wheeled round and was 
retreating precipitately when “ Stop, stop ; what’s that ? ” 
from behind, obliged him to halt and reply. 

“ Mr. Seaford’s coming and Mrs. Seaford isn’t 
coming.” 

“ Coming here ? ” said Ambrose, gathering himself 
together and half-rising from his chair. “ Did you say 
here ? ” 

“ Mr. Seaford’s coming home, and Mrs. Seaford isn’t 
coming out,” repeated Algy, with a malicious accen- 
tuation of the two explanatory words. “That’s my 
message; I can’t help it if it isn’t plain.” 

“ Oh, it is explicit enough,” said Ambrose, dryly. 
“ Quite explicit enough ; I was thinking of other sub- 
jects at the moment, that was all. So you were sent to 
call me? ” — and he rose upright. 

“No hurry; he’s not here yet,” said the boy non- 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 163 

chalantly. “And I wasn’t told to call you either, Mr. 
Ambrose.” 

“ Will you be good enough to say what you were 
told?” retorted Ambrose, losing temper. “You are 
bungling your job, it strikes me. To begin with, who 
sent you? ” 

“ Mrs. Seaford,” promptly. But to himself her dele- 
gate added, “ I am bungling my job, am I ? I’ll just 
bungle it a little more then, and you won’t like it when 
it’s properly bungled, mister” — and he proceeded garru- 
lously, with the emphasis people usually lay on a mes- 
sage whose accuracy is doubted. “ Mrs. Seaford called 
me to her as I went up to the house just now ; she had 
a telegram in her hand, and she said, ‘ Go and tell Mr. 
Ambrose I’m not coming out to him again, as my hus- 
band is coming home ’. I came straight off, as I guessed 
I should find you here.” 

“ Do I understand that Mrs. Seaford is welcoming 
her husband now, at this moment? ” 

“ Rather not. I’m such a rotter at a message,” 
with an innocent air. “ It’s only that she can’t be 
bothered to come out again, she’s so jolly happy and 
all that.” 

“ Very natural,” rejoined Ambrose, suavely; he was 
now aroused, and the boy’s face and tone alike warned 
him to be careful. “All right, thanks; I understand 
now. And I think I shall collect my traps and go 
indoors, too,” he added, after a moment’s thought. 
“ Could you give me a hand ? ” 

“ Oh, yes, certainly. Shall I carry the books down 
to the cottage for you, Sir?” A little alarmed and a 
little ashamed, there was an instantaneous change in 
Algy’s manner ; he was overawed by the other’s self- 
command ; it evinced that in their late passage-of-arms 
the honours had been with his opponent. 


II 


i 64 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 


“ Give me the big one at any rate,” he pleaded. 

‘‘There’s no need, thanks. My umbrella?” said 
Ambrose, looking round. He had an umbrella with a 
cotton cover, used for going to and fro in the heat. 
“ Where on earth have I put it ? ” 

“Why, it’s in your hand, ha-ha-ha! Let me put 
it up for you — oh. Lord, there go the books ! ” cried 
Algy, officiously darting forward, as the shaking out of 
the umbrella caused a general displacement. “ You’d 
much better let me carry some, Mr. Ambrose,” and he 
tried to keep what he had picked up, but was not per- 
mitted to do so. 

“ If you wish to be useful, take a message for me 
instead,” said Ambrose, curtly. “ Say I’ve gone home 
not to intrude upon the sacred hour of reunion ; ” and 
he strode away, but he did not hear a low whistle that 
floated down the breeze after him. “ I don’t bungle 
this job anyhow,” murmured the whistler. 

It was a full hour before he returned to the house, 
and then he crept up the back-stairs to his own little 
bedroom. He had made up his mind what to say to 
Olivia, but he would not say it unless it were necessary ; 
when he heard the dog-cart arrive and voices, steps 
and a general commotion below as the result, he felt 
tolerably secure that it would not be necessary. “ She’s 
been a bit silly over that black-haired baboon,” quoth 
he to himself, “ but now she’ll shunt him unless — no, I 
don’t bungle my job this time, Mr. Ambrose, not if I 
know it. I shall only remember the first part of your 
message. As for the sacred hour of reunion, it was 
beastly cheek to say such a thing — with a beastly sneer 
on your beastly lips too.” He tied his evening tie and 
resumed. “ If she guessed he were in a huff, she’d 
fawn upon him till he came out of it — so she shan’t 
guess, not if I can help it. The only thing a poor chap 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 165 

like me is good for is to hold his tongue, and I’d hold 
my tongue for her upon the rack. Hullo, she’s laugh- 
ing ! ” 

He could scarcely believe his ears ; he was not anti- 
cipating a peculiarly merry evening, despite the shout 
which had hailed the news of Mr. Seaford’s return — 
for, rose and all, he had seen something of the troubled 
looks it was meant to hide, nor was it quite a natural 
voice which had given him the message delivered as we 
know it was — so that laughing — and yet it certainly 
was Olivia’s laugh, and an immense relief that laugh 
was. Let us see what caused it. 

We all know how infinitesimally small a matter may 
cause a diversion at an overwhelming serious moment. 
A creak of the shoe, a smudge on the cheek, a hiccough 
— something incongruous which would escape notice 
under other circumstances will prove supremely ludicrous 
when the tension is strained and solemnity the order of 
the day — and here is Willie Seaford with a full heart 
folding his beloved Olivia in his arms, and here is she 
shamed, pained, yet struggling for worthier emotions, 
endeavouring to return his embrace, when all at once 
both yield to an extraordinary, an almost unnatural in- 
clination — with one accord they both break out into a 
peal of merriment. 

“Willie!” 

Willie had thrown off his overcoat as he sprang from 
the dog-cart, and Willie it was, but 

“Ho-ho-ho! Ha-ha-ha! Eh-eh-eh?” cried he, 
exhibiting himself. “ Eh, Olivia, eh ? ” 

“ But, Willie? ” Her eyes ran over him from head 
to foot. “ My dear Willie ! I can scarcely believe it is 
you.” 

“Thought you wouldn’t. And I never let slip a 
word of it,” cried he, triumphantly. “There’s a stone 


i66 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


and a half off me ! A stone and a half in a month, and 
I’m going on with it. I’m not to stop till another 
stone’s gone at least. Perhaps more. Come along, 
and I’ll tell you,” leading her within. “ I don’t want 
Thomas and all of them gaping; ” then as the drawing- 
room door shut : “ Dear,” said he, taking her face be- 
tween his hands, and could any one have failed to note 
how soft and loving was the voice that murmured the 
next words, “ Dear, it was for you I did it ” ? 

Olivia trembled all over. 

With an effort, however, she recovered herself. 
Since kind fate had intervened thus opportunely on her 
behalf, effecting for her what she could never have 
effected for herself — namely, an object on which her 
own and her husband’s thoughts could mutually be 
concentrated — she would play up bravely to fate. She 
would keep the ball rolling. 

Olivia was no actress, but in youth one can do much 
that is difficult in after years ; for instance, one can turn 
one’s back upon the disagreeable without looking at it 
over one’s shoulder. She now faced her husband, and 
for the time being saw him only. 

Then she walked round and round him. “ You are 
really wonderful, Willie. Willie, I can scarcely believe 
that it is you.” She repeated what she had said before. 

That’s what I said. I said you wouldn’t know me. 
See here,” and he extended an arm and a leg; “ a good 
inch less round both, and a lot more than that here,” 
patting his belt. “ Isn’t that grand, eh ? ” 

“ But you look so much better in the face. You are 
improved every way. Your neck ” 

“ No neck at all. Look,” and he worked his neck 
back and forward in the collar. “ Doesn’t bulge over a 
bit now, does it ? ” 

“ Not a bit. But how did you do it — how did you 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 167 

set about it ? ” Her corroboration and interest were all 
that could be desired. 

Chucked drink,” said he, concisely. 

“ But you never did drink, Willie.” 

“ Oh, I took my whack like another man. I never 
was a nipper — that’s how I kept fit, — but as Jack 
Malcolm pointed out ” 

“ Who is Jack Malcolm ? ” 

“ The doctor fellow who worked the whole thing for 
me. He was our fourth man, as Atkinson fell through, 
and the very first night we were there — at Stronafalloch 
— he looked at me and said : ‘ I say, you’ve no business 
to be your weight at your age ’. I had told him I was 
only thirty, you know. The others laughed, but I 
thought, ‘ Hang it all, that’s a nasty one,’ — so when we 
were alone I had it out with Malcolm, and he said if I 
were in earnest he’d engage to send me home at the end 
of the month so that you wouldn’t know me.” 

“And he has, he really has ; go on, Willie.” 

“ He said to begin with, that a man stowed away a 
lot more liquor of one kind and another than he had any 
idea of, even without touching it between whiles, and 
that he should make a clean sweep of beer, wine and 
spirits — the whole bag of tricks — with the exception of 
one tablespoonful of whisky in my water, and it was to 
be hot water, once a day. Only once, mind you. It 
was awful at first. Do you know, Olivia, I spent half 
my time considering when I’d have that spoonful, 
whether at dinner or at bedtime? I really did.” 

“ You poor Willie ! ” 

“I hated to see the other fellows produce their 
flasks on the moor, but I said to myself, ‘ Damn it, 
it’s for Olivia,’ so walked off with my pipe till they’d 
done.” 

“ You were allowed your pipe ? ” 


i68 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


“And a cigar the last thing at night. How I did 
enjoy that cigar! ” 

“ But was that all, Willie ? ” 

“(Rather not ; there was the food business, but really 
that wasn’t so bad; Jack Malcolm was awfully clever 
about it, and though I daren’t for my life touch bread 
or butter or potatoes — oh, and puddings, he was down 
on puddings too — he let me eat my fill of fish, and 
game, and any kind of greenery. He used to encourage 
me not to mind the others jeering, and say it was all 
very well for them with their odds and ends of all sorts, 
to make fun of my appetite, because I wanted another 
grouse or so.” 

“ Another grouse I A whole grouse ! ” 

“There, that’s just what they said. If Malcolm 
hadn’t stood by me I’d have been ashamed to ask for it, 
but if ever my hand went out towards the bread-sauce, 
there was his big hand upon it like a shot. I could 
never evade him ; not that I wished to evade him, only 
sometimes ” 

“ I know you do like dishes with their proper ad- 
juncts,” said Olivia, sympathetically; “and I am afraid 
you will find them — what about to-night ? ” She broke 
off suddenly. 

“Perhaps I’d better take what’s going to-night?” 
He regarded her wistfully ; he was hungry. 

“ I wouldn’t,” said Olivia, shaking her head. 

“ But won’t the cook ” 

“ Never mind the cook. She shall be told to-morrow ; 
and, Willie, I shall be your Jack Malcolm now. I’ll see 
that you have abundance of proper food.” 

“ But won’t it bother you ? ” 

“ No, indeed ; I mean to keep you young and hand- 
some now that you have done so much for yourself 
already. Come upstairs now — oh, my dear Willie ! ” 


THE TELEGRAM ON THE HALL-TABLE 169 

— for he had caught her in his arms and sprung up two 
steps at a time — oh, stop, stop,” cried Olivia. It was 
then that Algy Rushington in his little room midway 
heard the burst of gay laughter which so puzzled 
him. 


CHAPTER IX. 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW. 

“And I suppose Ambrose has been a success, eh?” 
said Willie, as the little party seated themselves at the 
dinner-table. “ When did he leave? ” 

“Leave?” repeated Olivia. She had braced her- 
self up for this moment and could speak calmly. 
“Leave, dear? He is not gone yet.” 

“Isn’t he? Oh. Glad to hear it. I thought he 
must have taken himself otf, as you did not mention 
him in your last letters.” 

“ He seems quite comfortable where he is ; ” she 
bent over her soup, and Algy steadily consumed his, and 
neither of them looked at the master of the house. He, 
however, sat back in his chair and the plate before him 
remained empty. Faithful to his new role he was free 
for conversation. 

“ So Pump Cottage has turned out all right ? And 
he has been here most of the time, I daresay ? Shall I 
look him up after dinner, or would he rather be let 
alone ? You know his ways.” 

“ I believe he — works in the evenings,” said Olivia, 
a little unsteadily, for though the suggestion was not 
unexpected, she could not quite meet it as she wished. 
“ We never see anything of him — at least we hardly 
ever do after dark. He has only been here once — or 
twice — hasn’t he, Algy?” 

“ He’s a tremendous gun, Algy, you know, in the 

170 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 171 

learned line ; ” Willie Seaford also addressed the boy, 
who had mumbled an affirmative, for Olivia had spoken 
the exact truth — “ a swell of swells. You should have 
seen the looks of the fellows I told that Philip Ambrose 
was hidden away down at our place preparing his new 
book. It’ll thunder through the spheres, they say ; and 
they all wanted to know about him and what sort of a 
chap he was ? I said you could have told that better 
than I, Olivia.” 

“ Here isyowr dinner at last, Willie. You may eat 
salmon, mayn’t you? ” 

“ Well, I don’t know, it was just the one fish ” — he 
eyed it hungrily; “ it can’t matter for once though, can 
it? Only another time — I say I hope I shan’t be a 
nuisance with this fad of mine.” 

“ No, no ; you won’t be a nuisance. Let me know, 
and I’ll see to it,” cried Olivia, eagerly. 

“ And, Willie, if you think you ought not ” — but he 
had got a good slice on to his plate and she could not 
but be indulgent, “ Algy will wonder what we mean,” 
continued she, pursuing the distraction thankfully, and 
matters were explained to Algy with abundance of cir- 
cumlocution, and directly the topic flagged another was 
introduced, and there was so much to say and to 
comment on and to inquire into that Ambrose was for- 
gotten, and his name did not recur to the conversation 
during the remainder of the meal. 

It was now too late in the year to adjourn to the 
balcony for coffee, but Olivia was wont on mild Sep- 
tember evenings to place herself just within the big bay 
window of the drawing-room, whilst her husband had 
his after-dinner cigar outside, and as the weather 
roughened in the north he had often thought of her thus, 
her figure outlined against the cheerful glow of rosy 
lamps within. 


172 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

How beautiful she was and how dear ! If he had 
married any one else he supposed he should have been 
a little disappointed at having no children, — children 
were certainly — certainly a man did like to have a lot 
of little shavers running about the place — but a wife 
like Olivia was in herself enough to make a home. 

And when his heart was full he would talk, talk, 
talk by the hour about her. She did not know, possibly 
she would have been amazed to learn, how the big, 
simple fellow had woven her very being into his, and 
enshrined it in the innermost depth of his soul. She 
did not credit him with much soul, and he gave himself 
none — but there were men who severally could tell of 
nights on which, drowsy and weary, they had been 
forced to listen to a companion who held them in spell 
while his discourse flowed on and on, upon the one sub- 
ject, always the one subject, — and, though cursing his 
loquacity at the time, they had liked honest Willie Sea- 
ford the better for it afterwards. 

Was the woman worthy of it all, they wondered? 

Of course, she was a splendid creature to look at — 
but monstrously idealised, idealised out of all recogni- 
tion, some thought, by her husband — she gave herself 
such infernal airs for one thing. 

It must be confessed that the friends poor Willie 
brought out with him to The Willow House often had 
to complain of Olivia’s airs. 

Yet, could they have seen her now! She leaned 
against her husband as his arms encircled her pliant 
waist on leaving the dining-room, — (his hand took hold 
of Algy’s on the other side, for even in his holiest hours 
this man never forgot another’s feelings in his own) — 
and the three moved silently across the hall together. 
Then Algy slipped his cable and moored himself in a 
distant corner by a book-table and a lamp, — but Olivia 
still held fast by her anchorage. 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 173 

“Don’t go outside, Willie; it is cold outside to- 
night,” she shivered slightly as he placed her in her ac- 
customed settee, and made room for him by her side ; 
“ stay here with me,” she murmured. 

Of course he stayed, but she divined his thoughts. 
“ Smoke, dear, if you like. I don’t mind. I — I wish 
you would ” — and with her own hand she felt for his 
cigar case, a thing she had never done before. 

* “ Sure ? ” said he, gratefully. “ I can do without, if 

you would rather, you know.” 

“ I’ll light it for you, Willie.” And ere he put it to 
his lips he kissed her fondly, and her head rested on his 
shoulder and she closed her eyes, for beneath the lids 
the eyes were wet. Philip Ambrose was far away from 
that warm, sheltering presence, and if only — if only she 
could banish him from her thoughts and memories, if 
only he would not invade her dreams and lay his iron 
grasp upon her will ! 

“You are tired to-night, darling.” 

“ A little tired, yes, Willie.” 

“ Do you think it has altogether suited you to stay 
here with no change of any sort? ” — (No change ! alas 
— alas!). “All through this last hot month? I’ve 
been living in such glorious air, I often wished you were 
with me. And oh, the waterfalls! You should have 
heard the waterfalls all round on a still night after a 
rainfall. I used to say to myself, ‘ If only Olivia could 
hear those waterfalls ! ’ ” 

“Were they so grand ? ” 

“ Grand ! They boomed like the roar of the sea. 
You could hear them miles away.” 

“ It was a country for waterfalls, then ? ” 

“ Aye, a country for waterfalls ; rather a wet country, 
you know.” 

“ Go on, Willie.” 


174 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

There was another thing you would have liked. 
A pair of eagles had built their eyrie at the head of our 
glen, and though the young birds were reared and flown, 
the old ones clung to the nest ” 

“ You said ‘ Eyrie ’ before.” 

“That’s its name up there; and they used to circle 
round and round in the sunset, soaring and swooping, 
just the two together, just as you and I would have 
done. Once the old fellow was alone, and he seemed 
quite put out — you could tell there was something 
wrong with him in a moment. We all wondered what 
it was, till up she flew from behind the rocks, and away 
they went together. It was as plain as day he had felt 
all astray and lost without her. Just like me and you, 
I thought.” 

Olivia stirred uneasily. 

He bent over her. “Aren’t you comfortable, dar- 
ling?” 

“ Quite comfortable, thank you, Willie.” Her voice 
choked a little. 

“ Shall I bring you a cushion ? ” 

“ No, dear ; you are my cushion.” She leaned closer 
to him, and an involuntary sigh escaped. “ So you 
often think of me when you are away, Willie ? ” 

“Oh, by Jove! It got to be quite a joke with the 
fellows, the way I sneaked round by the post-office from 
wherever we were at the end of the shoot, on the 
chance of getting a letter. Because, you see, there was 
no second post to our place, though it came all right 
to Stronafalloch.” 

“ I am afraid you didn’t get very many letters, 
dear ; ” she bit her lip and stopped. How often she had 
said to herself: “I must write to Willie to-day, but it 
will do in the afternoon,” and in the afternoon : “ It will 
do in the evening,” and in the evening : “ To-morrow 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 175 


He must have trudged those miles over which his 
comrades made merry, again and again in vain. 

“If you had told me, Willie” — and then she was 
ashamed to think she needed telling; “I am such a 
wretched correspondent,” she faltered. 

“ Why, of course I knew that ; and besides you had 
nothing to write about,” cheerfully rejoined he. “ Now 
if you had been where I was you would have made a 
splendid thing of it. You would have found something 
to describe even in the sky. I used to say to myself, ‘ If 
she could see that sky ! ’ ” 

“ But one can’t write about a sky, Willie.” 

“ You could. I used to love your letters when they 
were all about your garden ; there was one I remember 
— I read it over till I knew the bit by heart — all about 
a kingfisher you had found down at the brook. I could 
just see the jolly little creature hopping about.” 

“ But, Willie ? ” She hesitated with rather a fright- 
ened face. 

“ Yes, dear ; ” he laid his cheek upon the soft head 
below, and his low tones were full of the content so 
wanting in hers. 

“ Why did you say you ‘ Used to love my letters 
when they were about the garden ’ ? Aren’t they — I 
am just as fond of my garden as ever, you know.” 

“ You haven’t written about it so much. Oh, they’ve 
been capital letters. Always. Jolly full of news, too; 
kept me up in all the doings here.” 

“ I tried to do that.” She had raked the neighbour- 
hood for items, and even condescended to glean them from 
the servants ; she thought he would be charmed with 
her chattiness, never imagining he would miss the more 
intimate, more familiar, purer, sweeter note. Now, 
though she did not wish to say it, she found herself 


1/6 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

impelled to suggest, “ You liked the old letters best, 
Willie?” 

‘‘ Oh, come, I never said that. I liked both. I 
thought it awfully good of you to know I should be 
interested in what the folks here were about ; only of 
course, well of course I care more — that’s to say noth- 
ing, and no one is ever so interesting to me as my 
darling herself. That’s all right, isn’t it ? ” And again 
he softly touched her head, with his lips this time. 

And this time Olivia could not speak, she under- 
stood so well. 

“ I suppose you got about the country a little, took 
your friends some drives, eh ? ” resumed Willie presently, 
in a lighter tone. “ I know you went to Ivy Moat once. 
What did Ambrose think of it ? ” 

Mr. Ambrose had been delighted with Ivy Moat, 
she assured him ; but they had not made many driving 
excursions, the difficulty being that they would not allow 
her to sit with her back to the horses — C* I should think 
not indeed ! ” cried he at this) — and it made poor Algy 
feel bad — (Olivia lowered her voice, though all the above 
must have been inaudible to Algy in his distant armchair) 
— and she hardly liked to put Mr. Ambrose — in fact Mr. 
Ambrose did not care much for driving when all three 
were boxed up in the barouche — he said it was neither 
exercise nor repose, neither work nor play — so it was no 
use taking out horses, if people preferred staying at home. 

“ The boy might have liked it,” said Willie, looking 
at him. 

“ He went in the dog-cart sometimes. He soon gets 
tired, and a little turn of an hour or so is as much as 
he can comfortably undertake.” 

“ Is he stopping on? Has anything been said about 
his going? I’m glad he should stay as long as ever 
you like, you know.” 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 177 

“ His people want him to join them at the seaside. 
He has only waited till you came to fix a day.” 

“ My coming needn’t make a difference. However, 
I daresay you have had enough of visitors, and you 
mustn’t sacrifice yourself.” 

“To Algy; oh, no.” She could not help laughing — 
rather a bitter laugh. Poor Algy had obtained but little 
at her hands. 

“ It must have been a great thing for the poor little 
chap to be able to hobble about without being over- 
looked, and have you to talk to and work with — for you 
found him jobs to do among your flower-beds. I’ll answer 
for it, and any kind of outdoor occupation would do him 
good.” 

“Yes, of course. He was always busy.” But a 
vision of Algy with bent back, patiently cutting and 
tying by himself, nowhere near the elm-tree shade, 
rose reproachfully before Olivia’s eyes. “ I wonder 
the Rushingtons don’t rent a country house where they 
can give him what he likes, and what his health re- 
quires,” proceeded she, gaining fluency. “ It seems a 
shame, when he is their only son, that they should not 
study him more. They are well enough off,” and she 
continued to dilate. Nevertheless despite her efforts 
the conversation wandered back to Philip Ambrose. 

“And when is he going?” quoth Willie, placidly. 
“ His time is about up too, unless he prolongs it. He 
only took the cottage for a month, you know ; and by 
the week, so that he could leave at any time.” 

“ He has said nothing about it — yet. Perhaps now 

It is getting late, dear, and you have had a long 

journey.” 

“ Since five o’clock this morning. I had to be off 
at five to catch the Loch Lomond boat — the boat lies 
at Ardlui for the night, and starts soon after six, — and 


12 


178 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

there’s a good seven miles of moorland road to get over, 
so we always allow an hour, though it’s a fine heather 
road, and our pony makes nothing of it. I daresay he 
was glad I had that stone weight off me though ; I was 
quite enough for him as it was, with my gun-case and 
portmanteau.” The big fellow laughed contentedly, and 
rose and stretched himself. “ Aye, it’s good to be home,” 
he added, looking at his watch, then crossed the room 
to Algy. 

“ Bedtime, youngster ; and if you had been on the 
go since five o’clock this morning, you’d be ready for 
your bed as I am. Oh, you can finish your chapter if 
you like, you know,” as the boy jumped up, shutting 
his book with a clap, “ I didn’t mean to hurry you off.” 

“ I’m ready, sir.” 

“ If you want to sit up a bit, just ring for Thomas 
when you leave the room.” 

“ Indeed I’m quite ready, sir.” 

“ Come along then. We won’t burn the midnight 
oil, like our gentleman at Pump Cottage,” quoth Willie 
gaily; '‘we'll sleep the sleep of the just — I say, there’s 
something wrong about that though, Olivia,” looking 
at her over his shoulder ; “ it seems to hit Master Ambrose 
a thump on the back. But he can stand it ; he’ll have 
the laugh on his side when his book comes out. More by 
token I’ll run down and shake hands with him before I 
go to town to-morroW ; I don’t mean to go early.” 

“Must you go at all?” said Olivia, gently. She 
would fain have kept him with her for a while. 

“ I said I’d be at the office for an hour or two, just 
to get posted up. I can go late and come back early.” 

“Would it not be soon enough to see Mr. Ambrose 
when you come back? ” She played with a paper-knife 
on the table ; somehow she hated to think of a meeting 
between the two men. 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 179 

“ I only thought he might like the attention,” began 
he, and then to his surprise Olivia caught him up as she 
had a way of doing, but had not done all that evening. 

“ And why should he get the attention ? He might 
have paidyow the attention of coming up to welcome you 
and thank you. He has had a great deal from us, and 
might have been glad of an opportunity to make some ac- 
knowledgment. I should not trouble about Mr. Ambrose 
for my part,” — and she threw down the paper-knife. 

“ Why then, I won’t.” Willie yawned and winked 
aside to the delighted Algy, who had hearkened to the 
above with an absent-minded air that would have 
deceived any one into thinking politeness alone obliged 
him to listen. “ I’ll let sleeping dogs lie — more especi- 
ally as I’m an awfully sleepy dog myself to-night, and 
won’t say what hour I’ll be up to-morrow. But as for 
being huffy with Ambrose for not looking in this evening, 
oh, you little hypocrite ” — his arm stole round Olivia’s 
waist again — “ you know we didn’t want him. We were 
only too glad he should keep away, weren’t we now? ” 

** Yes.” Algy started at the “ Yes ” and looked atten- 
tively at the speaker. There was surely no need to speak 
so loud, and so emphatically, so haughtily. The word 
seemed to be flung in some one’s face, yet it was not 
in the face of Olivia’s husband, to whom she was all 
sweetness and tenderness. 

‘‘ She’s mad with herself and with the other chap. 
She sees he’s been making a fool of her ; she’ll pull her- 
self together and throw him off now,” reflected the boy, 
and then he chuckled again : “ Oh, no, I haven’t bungled 
my job this time, Mr. Ambrose.” 

The next morning dawned bright and clear, with 
crispness in the air and frosty cobwebs flying from 
bough to bough. 


12 


i8o THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


To Olivia it seemed an outward manifestation of a 
strengthening atmosphere within her own spirit. She 
awoke braced, invigorated, willing, only too willing to 
believe that the past was the past, and that with the 
dreamy, enervating days now over, their influence would 
also be left behind. 

She heard her husband splashing in his bath with 
satisfaction. He had been slow to rise, but when he 
did, it was a giant refreshed who sprang to his feet and 
summoned her to join him at the open window. “Just 
come and look for a moment,” he turned round, “it’s 
glorious outside ! We have the best of it in the south 
now; nothing beats Old England on a fine September 
morning.” And then he retired, whistling and sing- 
ing by turns, and every now and then calling to her 
through the closed door, till she bade him let it stand 
open an inch or two, and answered all he said gaily. 

She was ready to descend before he was, and a note 
lay by her plate on the breakfast table — lay aside from 
the letters which had come by post, so that it caught 
her eye in a moment. And for a moment she covered 
it with her hand — for a moment she thought she would 
slip it into her pocket. The writer might not have 
meant — she paused, then boldly undid the envelope; 
no matter what the writer meant, she would have no 
clandestine correspondence. 

“ Lots of letters, I see,” said Willie, entering shortly 
after. “Oh, I say;” he regarded his own pile with 
dismay. “ What on earth are all of these ? ” 

“ Only the ones I did not think worth forwarding,” 
replied Olivia, looking up, and quietly laying aside her 
own as she did so. “The usual accumulation, but the half 
are bills and advertisements. Luckily, bills don’t worry 
you, Willie. Now, tell me, is it tea or coffee at breakfast, 
dear.? ” — and her hand hovered between the two pots. 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW i8i 


“Coffee — but no milk, and no sugar.” He was 
interested at once, and came round to superintend. “ It 
really isn’t bad, you know, once you are used to it,” 
and he was about to carry off his cup when she put a 
note on the saucer. 

“ From Mr. Ambrose, Willie.” 

“ Good-morning,” continued Olivia, nodding pleas- 
antly, as Algy approached on her other side ; “ a delight- 
ful morning, isn’t it ? And you have letters, too. We 
have all heaps of letters to-day.” (Welcome, agreeable, 
interesting letters, her voice conveyed.) 

“I say!” said Willie, from the other end of the 
table. “I say, Olivia” — he turned over the note he 
had just finished reading (it was very short, and took 
no time to peruse) — “this is a bit — oh, I daresay it’s 
all right, eh?” — after a glance at her face, which dis- 
tinctly gave no glance back. “ Oh, well, we won’t 
bother with letters till we’ve had our breakfast ; ” he 
shovelled them all on one side and turned to uncover 
dishes on a table behind. Hollo, grouse ? My word, 
it does smell good, and you’ll say so when you’ve tasted 
it, youngster,” putting a plateful before his guest. 

“ These are some of the birds I brought with me, I 
suppose ; but I kept you going pretty well all the time, 
didn’t I, Olivia ? Did you always have them for break- 
fast ? ” 

“ No, dear, but I thought you would like them ; ” 
she had a higher opinion of his tact , than she had ever 
had before. He was obviously surprised and chagrined 
by the contents of the missive at his side, and, guessing 
that she was the same, directed attention towards the 
grouse. 

“ Nice, plump beggars these are, too,” proceeded 
Willie, carving away. “ Yours were all good ones, 
though. I picked out the best for you. The other 


i 82 the enlightenment of OLIVIA 


fellows didn’t mind, because of course the badly shot 
ones wouldn’t travel, and they did just as well for us.” 

“ Had they not any friends or relations to send to ? ” 
Olivia was trying to eat, trying to bear her part in the 
conversation, trying to look cheerful and unconcerned — 
but it was hard work with that dull sense of shock within, 
numbing every effort. It tasked her utmost strength to 
keep a serene brow and unruffled demeanour. 

She felt, moreover, that Willie shared the shock. 
He could not feel as she did, but he felt enough, he had 
read enough to — ah, she must not think, she must not 
allow herself even to seem to think; she ran on 
hurriedly: I hope you were not grasping on our 

account, Willie ? We did get so many hampers ; Algy 
and I said they were always coming.” 

“Well, you see, as I paid a double share of the 

whole concern ” he stopped, he had not meant this 

to slip out. 

“You did? You never told me that.” Olivia was 
genuinely surprised. 

“ They could not have afforded it, if I hadn’t,” 
rejoined he, apologetically ; “ they are none of them — 
well, they aren’t exactly poor, but they’re not rich, and 
I said to myself ‘What is it to you?’ — so I just 
arranged it on the quiet, and they were awfully nice 
and didn’t mind.” 

“I daresay they didn’t.” Olivia could not help 
laughing, and she looked at her husband very kindly, 
and a shade of the blush which suffused his honest face 
was transmitted to hers as she continued : “ No, I don’t 
suppose they minded, for you would be so afraid of — 
I wonder you contented yourself with only the double 
share.” 

“ Oh, it was enough,” said he, simply ; “ they could 
manage then ; and they would like to do it again, but 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 183 

I said we’d see about it — that is, I was thinking, I do 
so want you to hear those waterfalls some time or other, 
Olivia.” 

So, naturally, you had a claim to the best of the 
birds ; ” she waived the question hovering on his lips. 

“ I never said I had a claim, only they insisted I 
should take what I wanted ; and, as none of them had 
wives nor any one to send to, it was all right.” 

(“ He thought of that when he paid the double 
share; he is always thinking of me whatever he does 
and wherever he goes,” said she, to herself. “ Oh why, 
why can’t I ? ”) 

But she felt better for the little episode. 

Breakfast over, Willie called her aside. “About 
that chap’s note. Isn’t it — aren’t you a bit taken aback, 
eh ? To go off — to be actually gone before he sent it ! 
I don’t think we are exacting people, but, as you said 
yourself last night, we did our best for him, and as for 
you ” 

“ I think he is very ungrateful,” said Olivia, steadily, 

“Come down this walk, and let us talk about it.” 
He took her arm — it throbbed beneath his touch, but 
she did not wince this time, and they strolled along a 
tangled path of gaudy bloom together. “ Here is his 
note,” continued Willie, producing it. “And a queer 
sort of note I call it for a man to send who has been 
spending a month — of course it’s not to me he owes 
anything, but he might have had some feeling for 
vou ” 

“ Oh, me, I — I did nothing ” 

“ What I don’t like is the tone of it. It’s cool, 
deuced cool ; almost as if we had done him an injury. 
Of course that’s ridiculous — but then why has he written 
as if— and it isn’t as if a chap like that didn’t know 
how to write. If it had been me now. I’m no hand at 


i 84 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

the pen, and the right words never seem to come handy, 
but Ambrose — it’s his business, he’s at it all day and 
every day; no one ought to be more up to writing a 
decent note, putting in a civil phrase or two, making it 
plain at least that he — eh?” 

That he is sensible of having been kindly treated, 
and values it. Yes, certainly, Willie.” 

Well — he hasn’t, you know.” 

‘‘ No, he hasn’t.” 

“ The rum thing is that he should write at all. He’s 
not three minutes’ walk from the house, and sends up 
this beastly formal note, and even that not till after he’s 
actually off, — whereas he must have been sitting there 
all yesterday evening, knowing I’d come back, for I 
suppose he did know? ” he broke off, inquiringly. 

“ I sent Algy to tell him of the telegram. He was 
sitting in the garden — over there.” She pointed to the 
spot where still remained the chairs, the two chairs, 
with the little table — and turned away her eyes after a 
glance. “ And it was only six o’clock. I had come in- 
doors, and did not go out again.” 

“ So you haven’t seen him since? ” 

“No.” 

“ He couldn’t have turned rusty at anything? But 
of course not, there was nothing to turn rusty about, 
unless,” he ruminated, “he thought you might have 
told him yourself? But, after all, he couldn’t be such 
an ass, and he always seemed an uncommonly easy- 
going, sensible fellow. I daresay we shall find that he 
simply was not thinking of us at all. He was full of 
his own affairs. He says — let us see what he says,” 
and he pulled out the note. “ I didn’t give it you back 
before the boy; there was no need for him to see we 

thought it odd, but ” and he held it towards her, 

his eyes following. 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 185 


But she did not look at it, she did not need to look 
at it ; the few bald expressions, even to the “ Yours 
sincerely” at the end had burnt themselves into her 
brain. She turned her head and gathered her skirts to- 
gether; the borders of the path were thick and dewy, 
and care was needed to avoid them. 

“ ‘ Dear Mrs. Seaford,’ ” read Willie aloud, ‘ know- 
ing that you are engaged to-night I will not intrude, but 
send this up in the morning to let you know that I have 
suddenly decided to join a friend in a trip to America, 
and as I have to make arrangements, I am off at day- 
break ’ He must have written this last night then,” 

interpolated the reader, glancing up and down, but there 
was no date. “ ‘ Knowing that you are engaged,’ ” pro- 
ceeded he, meditatively, “ that’s a queer way of saying 
that I had come home ; however, let’s finish. ‘ So I 
know you will excuse a personal leave-taking.’ Humph ! 
it doesn't excuse it, all the same. Eh ? What do you 
say?” 

“ No, it does not.” Her face turned from him, but 
her answer was satisfactory, and he resumed reading : — 

“ ‘ With many thanks for all your kindness.’ Oh, he 
does say that.” 

He could not say less.” 

No, he could not say less ; of course not. Still, I 
didn’t notice it before, it all seemed so uncommonly 
cool and cut short. As if he had hardly troubled to — 
upon my word, I wonder he troubled to write at 
all ! ” The good-tempered fellow was for once moved 
to asperity, and Olivia approved the asperity. 

“And that’s all,” continued he, turning the page, 
“ there’s nothing here, but ‘ Believe me, sincerely yours, 
Philip Ambrose ’. Well, if that isn’t taking French leave 
— if the idea weren’t absurd, one would say Mr. Philip 
Ambrose had taken to his heels in a huff.” As he spoke 


i86 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


he mechanically folded the sheet and handed it to his 
wife. “Now what do you think ? ” 

“ I think as you do, Willie.” 

“The whole thing strikes you as ” 

“ Insolently ungrateful.” Sharp as steel the words 
flashed out. 

Struck by their extreme bitterness, he stopped dead 
and stared at her in amazement, but her severity miti- 
gated his. Indeed, he laughed as he echoed “ ‘ Insol- 
ently ungrateful ? ’ That’s good, that’s as good as 
anything he could have said. ‘ Insolently ungrateful,’ 
— ha, ha, ha ! I only wish our gentleman could have 
heard it.” 

“ He would have been welcome to hear it.” 

“ But isn’t it a bit strong, Olivia? Come now, isn’t 
it ? One shouldn’t judge, you know. And you see he 
says ‘ Suddenly decided ’ — it’s rather hard on a chap 
who has suddenly decided on a thing to have two other 
people sitting upon him for it at their leisure. Because 
of a little breach of the what-d’ye-call-’ems — of — of — 
etiquette, I mean.” 

“ There are some breaches of etiquette that nothing 
can excuse. They spring from want of proper feeling, 
want of self-control ” 

“ My dear child, what are you thinking about ? 
Self-control ? What possible need of self-control could 
Ambrose have ? ” 

She had brought it on herself, but after a moment- 
ary pause a ready and lucid explanation followed. 
“ His mind was preoccupied when he wrote that note; 
it was full of — something else ; consequently he did 
not consider what was due to you. To let this be ap- 
parent is to be lacking in self-control.” 

“ Spoken like a book,” applauded Willie gaily. 
“You always are too clever for me, and when I think 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 187 

to catch you tripping, you wriggle out of my poor feeble 
clutches, ” and he spread a brawny hand and sur- 

veyed it humorously. 

“ Anyhow, we agree about our dear departed from 
down yonder,” resumed he, jerking his head in the 
direction of Pump Cottage; ‘'he has given us the slip 
with precious little ceremony, and what I mind is the 
incivility towards you.” 

“ I was about to say it was the incivility towards 
you '' — she tried to laugh; “we are each affronted on 
the other’s behalf.” 

“ But he owed me nothing.” 

“ He owed you a proper message. He owed you 
more than that ; he ought to have come up last night if 
he intended to be off so early to-day, and he ought never 
to have talked of ‘ Intruding ’.” 

“ I saw that, too,” cried Willie eagerly; “it struck 
me at breakfast, and I meant to point it out afterwards. 
‘ Intrude? ’ A fellow you’ve made free of your house ! 
As if he couldn’t have run up for five minutes — as if we 
should have grudged him that — and with that long 
tongue of his he could have said all he had to say in 
less. Not that we wanted him, darling” — he pressed 
her arm, thinking of the happy hour in the bay window 
— “ but then he couldn’t know that. His business was 
to come, and he could have cut his visit as short as he 
chose.” 

“ Yes, I think so too.” 

“ There’s another thing,” said Willie, ruminating ; 
“ it might make people talk, his trotting off like this the 
very moment I came home. If you weren’t you and he 
weren’t there would be dead sure to be a cackle ; 
and what provokes one is that Ambrose should be so 
inconsiderate as not to see this. Of course, no one will 
know he wrote that little dry beastly note, but it will 


i88 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


get out that he made off to-day, and the servants and 
Algy know that he never came near us last night. 
Then if I run across Thatcher ” 

“ Keep out of his way, Willie.” 

“ I will if I can, but we are sure to meet sooner or 
later, and he has already been inquisitive, and rather 
sniffy over this affair. I told you so at the time Am- 
brose took his rooms.” 

I remember.” 

“ I was glad they should be away while I was. That 
you should be free from their prying and spying ” 

“Oh, Willie, as if ” 

“ No, no, no; I didn’t mean that; and Lady Fanny 
is a good sort and rather believes in you — but the old 
colonel has nothing to do but go from house to house 
picking up the talk of the country-side. He nearly 
always buttonholes me with some new piece of gossip. 
Now you see we thought we’d made that square by 
plumping down the boy Rushington as your aide-de- 
camp — you told him he was to be your aide-de-camp, 
and the poor chap beamed over it — so if Ambrose 
hadn’t behaved like a fool, if he had had the sense 
either to go before or after I came home, instead of 
rushing off as if shot by an electric machine, the whole 
thing would have passed off right enough. Ambrose 
should not have got us into a hole ; that’s what I feel ; 
I can’t help it if you think me uncharitable, Olivia.” 

“ Indeed, I don’t think so, Willie.” 

“That’s right;” again he pressed her arm. “I 
was half afraid you would stick up for him, though I 
saw you were nonplussed as I was by that staggerer of 
a note. Can you — since you don’t defend him — can 
you, on thinking it over, get at the bottom of it any- 
how ? You are so clever at ferreting out people’s motives 
— at least, you would be if you tried.” 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 189 

“ You think I should be clever at anything I tried, 
Willie ; ” she smiled faintly. 

* ‘ I know it. I know you could — only you don’t gener- 
ally think it worth while. But now, think; just think. 
Take your time and cast back in your mind ; is there any- 
thing you could have said or done, unintentionally, that 
a fellow with a good opinion of himself could have taken 
umbrage at? Ambrose is accustomed to being made 
a lot of; and yet I’m sure we — but then one never 
knows. Just think a bit; I’m not in a hurry to-day, 
and I’d like to have it cleared up and off my mind.” 

He paused and subjoined: “Besides, I don’t want 
you to be worrying yourself when I’m gone. I can 
never bear to think of you being worried when you’re 
alone, dear.” Again the soft tender note, it smote her 
and soothed her and shamed her, and her slender figure 
drooped beneath it. 

Now, Olivia, now! Oh, now was her time. Thus 
entreated, thus wooed to confidence, could she not with 
one brave effort speak up and out ? The truth was so 
plain to her, so unimaginable to him — and yet it needed 
but a stammered syllable or two, and he would start, 
stop short, and — and what next ? 

After all, it was not much she had to confess. It 
was but a phase, a passing piece of folly which had left 
in its wake this ugly, awkward, mortifying moment. 
She had done her husband no wrong as the world calls 
wrong. She had shrunk from the touch of Philip 
Ambrose, and been on her guard against a repetition of 
that offence, while the incense offered by word of mouth 
had been likewise rejected; and yet 

Tell Willie that another had monopolised her time, 
her thoughts, her day-dreams — that he had conquered 
her by sheer virile force, and she had crouched in spirit 
beneath his despotism? That his approval or disap- 


igo THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

proval meant a bright or a dark world for her for the 
time being, nay more, when bright it was a world of 
sunbeams? Tell her husband that she had watched 
for the step of another man, and feigned careless in- 
difference at its approach ? — (Willie would know, none 
better, how to interpret that) — that she had been im- 
patient of interruptions, careless of appearances when 
by the side of Philip Ambrose, fascinated into submis- 
sion and subjection? Even outwardly there had been 
much that was undignified, unseemly — while it was but 
the external manifestation of an inward surrender that 
had by fits and starts been struggled with, but never 
wholly overcome. 

Tell Willie all this? Wound his trustful, constant, 
loving nature by such a pitiful revelation? Oh, she 
could not — she could not. 

In some strange way she was conscious of loving her 
husband better than she had ever done before. He had 
mounted to a higher plane in her esteem, plumbed a 
deeper depth in her affections. His immense tenderness 
for her, his unshaken fidelity, the way in which he wove 
her as a golden thread into the warp and woof of his 
daily life, bearing her image in his breast whereso- 
ever he went, seeing it amid the beauties of Nature, 
hearkening with her ear to the mountain floods and the 
eagle’s cry — all of this touched and moved her inex- 
pressibly. 

And yet, oh, hateful ! even as she walked by his side, 
the path they trod was instinct with other associations. 
It was the one along which she had most frequently 
hastened to meet Ambrose ; it was the shortest way to 
their usual trysting-place. Here they had strolled in 
the twilight — at this point she had gathered him a 
flower. And even now — worst, saddest of all — even now 
had she caught the click of the lower gate, and a figure 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 191 

moved behind the intervening bushes, her heart would 
have leaped to her throat. 

“ I was thinking,” said Willie. 

Olivia’s handkerchief fell upon the path. 

“ How would it be to send the Thatchers a brace or 
two of grouse?” He stooped to pick up the handker- 
chief, gave it her, and proceeded : “ Or say one brace of 
grouse and one of black game ? There’s a magnificent 
cock in the hamper. I fancy old Thatcher would ap- 
preciate that cock.” 

The easy, everyday tone, the neighbourly suggestion 
— and she was quivering in every limb ! She thought 
now that at a word or a look from him she would have 
burst forth, and in an agony discerned that the fancied 
opportunity was gone and was not to be reclaimed. No, 
she could not speak now, it was beyond her strength to 
speak now. She uttered an inarticulate murmur. 

“ But we’ve plenty,” urged he, mistaking its pur- 
port. “ They made me take the entire day’s bag. We 
really should never miss them, dear.” 

“ I — I — oh, Willie, of course, send what you like. 
Send as many as you please — of course — Willie.” 

“ You were still thinking of Ambrose ? Now I advise 
you just to forget all that ; it’s not worth bothering 
about. See ? ” He took out his hand and laid it on her 
other shoulder. “Since we can’t make head or tail of 
it, and since it’s no fault of ours, what’s the use of 
fretting? Fretting might do me good,” philosophically. 
“ Jack Malcolm said I’d grow thin in no time if I had a 
good rousing worry to keep me awake at night and put 
me off my food, — but as you are slight enough — I say, 
darling, strikes me you are slimmer than ever, there’s 
less of you than there was when I went away.” 

“ Oh, no, Willie; I — I — am just what I always am 
— at this time of year.” 


192 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“ Don’t think it.” He shook his head. “ It didn’t 
show last night in that fluffy tea-gown, but now I look 
at you ” 

'‘Then don’t look at me.” She made a playful 
motion of evading him. “ Look away, sir, when I 

command you ; I am quite well ” 

Are you ? ” persisted he. “You were tired yester- 
day evening, and there’s a strained look about your 
eyes” — gazing into them. Her breath fluttered; was 
the lost opportunity coming back again? 

“ And there’s something gone from here.” He drew 
his finger down her cheek. “ My little wife must not 
lose her round face.” 

“Oh, Willie, not ‘ Round’? ” She laughed a trifle 
hysterically. “ How cruel of you, Willie, to call my 
beautiful oval contour ‘ Round 

“Oh, I know it used to be one of your points. 
That painter fellow who wanted to do your picture, 
raved to me about Mrs. Seaford’s perfect outline — but, 
seriously, my darling, now listen to me seriously like 
a good girl, haven’t you fallen away a little here and 
there? I don’t say it to badger you, only to see if 
there’s nothing we can do to set you up again?” 

Again, again the opportunity ! Could she not, would 
she not lay hold of it ? But the weakness he attributed 
to her was really there ; sprung, it is true, or perhaps it 
would be more correct to say accentuated, by a cause he 
little dreamed of, yet affording the miserable excuse for 
delay she longed for — and with shame she availed herself 
of it. Physically run down, mentally shaken and un- 
hinged, might she not await a calmer state of body and 
mind, when she would be less prone to exaggerate and 
magnify, when the past was not so near and could be 
viewed more justly? Oh, she must — she could not 
touch the throbbing nerve till the pain 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 193 

I am sure you are not yourself, darling,” quoth 
Willie, very gently. 

He was watching her. In the sunlight the fluctua- 
tions on her tell-tale countenance were all too visible, 
and with a start of alarm she hastened to reply in the 
steadiest accents she could muster : — 

“ No, Willie, I don’t think I am quite myself. You 
notice everything, Willie. No one else,” she smiled a 
watery smile, “ has seen anything amiss. But then no 
one cares for me as you do.” 

“ No, of course,” said he, simply. He did not say, 
even to himself, that it was an odd remark to make to a 
husband, especially such a husband as himself ; his quiet 
tones implied a mere recognition of its truth. 

“ We’ll talk over me another time,” continued Olivia, 
thinking the worst now past. “ And you shall make me 
well. And you won’t leave me again, Willie — say you 
won’t leave me again, for indeed it is, it would be — I 
could not bear it. I am so weak and foolish.” To her 
horror the floodgates all at once gave way, the tears 
were pouring down her face. 

My darling ! my poor little darling ! Why, Olivia ! ” 
Aghast, and yet intensely gratified, overpowered by 
grief, delight, and love, he had her in his arms, and at 
the same moment, annoyance extreme, a loud “ Hullo ! ” 
from behind arrested everything. The two flew apart, 
and wheeled round simultaneously. 

“ It’s Thatcher,” whispered Willie, under his breath. 
“Thatcher, confound him!” — as the colonel’s upright 
form was seen approaching in the distance. “Quick, 
darling,” catching the handkerchief in his hand and 
himself wiping her tear-stained cheeks. “ Can you — if 
you’d rather I met him alone, just turn down here,” 
indicating a side path — but she shook her head. 

“ He’ll notice nothing, he’s not observant,” proceeded 

13 


194 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

Willie, in an encouraging undertone ; “ and you really 
look all right now ; if you can pull yourself together for 
a few minutes.” 

‘‘ Oh, yes ; yes, yes,” she nodded up to him. 

‘‘ Bother him, what brings him here at this hour of 
the morning? Never did such a thing before. Talk 
of intruding ! ” muttered the hospitable Willie Seaford, 
for once churlishly inclined. “ This is ‘ Intruding ’ with 
a vengeance.” 

“ Take care, take care,” adjured Olivia faintly. 

‘‘ I am not glad to see him, that’s flat. I daresay 

he means no harm, but ” But had he read his 

unwelcome visitor’sthoughts at the moment — not Colonel 
Thatcher’s settled thoughts, be it understood, but those 
that now darted uppermost on the spur of the moment 
— the frown might have been exchanged for a smile. 
We shall offer them to our readers. 

Bless me, she is a lovely creature ! Fanny always 
says so, but I couldn’t see it ; hum — ha. A lovely 
creature, ’pon my soul! What an air — what a com- 
plexion I And with that delicate flush upon it — I must 
have been blind before I ” 

During those Indian experiences to which our old 
soldier was so fond of referring, he had never withheld 
his admiration from a fair face, however significantly his 
finger might point at the same subsequently, and, in 
truth, no man was more susceptible, or we will say in 
his youth had been more susceptible, to female charms. 
Hitherto he had voluntarily steeled himself against 
those now before him, moved thereto by a variety of 
motives, in which a vexed sense of being outshone and 
overlooked predominated ; but even with this underlying 
grudge apinst Olivia Seaford, he had at times been 
beguiled into paying her tribute, and we know he did 
so at his own dinner-table till thrust aside by Ambrose. 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 195 

The true type of English beauty,” he continued 
now to himself, and saluted respectfully, cap in hand. 

And it was with considerably more warmth, if with 
less than her accustomed grace, that Olivia responded. 
She was hurried, nervous, fidgetting with her gown, her 
sash, the ribbon at her throat — she turned to break off 
a large unwieldy dahlia from the flowery tangle by the 
path, even in the act of greeting Colonel Thatcher. 

Infinitely preferring this to her usual composure, 
however, the old soldier proceeded with his inward 
comments, which now took the form of self-gratulation. 
“ Glad I came — glad I caught them — this is as it should 
be — this will please Fanny to hear about. Gad ! if I 
have got to stand up for Madam, I can do it now with 
some sort of honesty.” 

“ We were just taking a stroll after breakfast,” said 
Willie, who was still not overpleased at the inter- 
ruption, and showed it — but it passed unnoticed ; the 
colonel’s eyes were not for him. 

“May I join you for a few minutes — can only stay 
as long — Mrs. Seaford ? ” — but Olivia was slipping past. 

In a moment the colonel’s bristles were up. Ha ! 
She was off ? He wasn’t worth staying for ? She 
couldn’t bestow upon him even a decent five minutes ? 
She turned as he spoke. 

“ By the way, Willie, we were speaking of Colonel 
Thatcher just before he appeared. You were saying 
you hoped he and Lady Fanny would accept ” 

“ Some species of our sport in the north,” struck in he. 
“ I only got home last night, and brought a good hamper 
full, and I can tell you they are in fine condition.” 

“ We had some for breakfast,” added Olivia, cheer- 
fully ; “ they were very good, as Willie says ; I wonder 
what Lady Fanny— has she any particular partiality ? 
Willie, are there any woodcock ? ” 

13 * 


196 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“No, my dear; too early for them. They come in 
December. But Colonel Thatcher shall come with me 
to the larder and take his pick.” 

The poor colonel, they both looked at him so kindly 
and frankly, his rising temper melted like dew in the sun. 

“ Vou are too good, ’pon my word, too good,” — and 
the grey moustache worked penitently. 

“ Shall we go now, as I must be off soon ? ” hinted 
Willie. Olivia was splendid, but he would not strain 
her too far ; she must be given a loophole for escape. 

“ You are going in, dear,” he turned to her ; “ would 
you order the dog-cart round — you’ll excuse a busy 
man, colonel — in a quarter of an hour? That’§ not 
hurrying you off, is it?” turning again to him. “A 
train to catch, you see.” 

“ I ought to apologise for having disturbed you at 
all at this time,” rejoined Colonel Thatcher, who had 
not yet got out his reasons for doing so — ostensible 
reasons, we should say, his real one may be guessed — 
“ but the fact is, Seaford, there is a parochial matter 
which must be settled to-day, and we churchwardens 
want to get a few opinions first.” 

“ Stop, Olivia — hey, stop — I’ll walk. Yes, I’ll walk. 
That’s all right.” 

“ A thousand pardons, sir ” — Willie turned from 
shouting the above after his wife’s retreating figure, the 
“ Yes ” and “ That’s all right ” being in answer to her 
calls back. “ It just occurred to me that if I hadn’t 
stopped the dog-cart coming round. I’d have got into it 
as sure as Fate.” 

“ And why not ? ” said the colonel, surprised. 

“ Why not ? Don’t you see why not ? ” He spread 
himself out as he had done the night ^before, offering his 
reduced proportions boldly for inspection. “ Do you 
ask me why not, sir?” 


AN EVENING IN THE BAY WINDOW 197 

“ Gad ! ” ejaculated the colonel. 

“ ril tell you all about it when we’ve settled the 
parochial matter,” continued Willie ; and the parochial 
matter was disposed of in a trice, when he was free to 
begin : “It was Jack Malcolm who put me in the way 
of it, a doctor fellow who was our fourth man,” etc. ; 
we need not enter on a repetition of the story, but link 
on to it the postscript : “As for Olivia, I gave her quite 
a shock. She wasn’t prepared, and I can tell you she 
regularly jumped when she first saw me without my 
overcoat.” 

“ I daresay.” The colonel eyed him up and down. 
“ If my mind hadn’t been running on that other affair 
— one has only to look at you — it’s extraordinary — 
’pon my soul, it is.” 

“ Aye — aye,” chuckled Willie. 

“ Keep at it, my dear fellow, keep at it. You’ll go 
lower yet. You look pounds better already — pounds 
better — but what I say is, keep at it ! Stiffen your 
back, and clap the muzzle on. Get a couple of dumb- 
bells — I work mine every morning. Tramp to the 
station instead of driving ” 

“ You heard me. That was why I called after 

Olivia to counter-order the dog-cart. So now ” he 

took out his watch. 

“ Ahem ! I think I’ll step round to the cottage and 
see Ambrose,” said the colonel. 

“ Ambrose ? You won’t find him. He’s gone — didn't 
you know?” (“I just knew I shouldn’t get off with- 
out this,” muttered Willie inwardly, and took no small 
credit to himself for the artlessness of his rejoinder.) 

“Gone?” The colonel came to a full stop. “Gone? 
Where?” 

“ Had a chance of a trip to America. Can’t say 
what day he starts.” 


198 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“ To America ? Ambrose gone to America ? Why 
I thought — bless me, that must have been a very sudden 
move? ” The speaker shot a suspicious glance. 

“ Oh, when a man’s hat covers his family he can 
make up his mind in less time than it takes to tell it,” 
laughed Willie. “ You wouldn’t get under weigh in a 
hurry, colonel — no more should I, though I have only 
the one to think about ; but Ambrose — you remember 
how quick he was in getting into the cottage? Now he 
has been equally quick in getting out of it, ha, ha, ha ! ” 

“ He might at least have called to tell us.” 

“ So he might. Surprised he didn’t.” 

“ He’s an unceremonious fellow,” began the colonel, 
conversationally. 

“ Very,” said Willie, and his indifference was grand. 
“ I’m just thinking about those birds,” he pondered 
aloud ; ‘‘ I could send them up ” 

“ No, no ; I’ll take them.” 

“ But are you going straight back? ” 

“ I am now, since it is no use going on to the 
cottage.” 

Not a bit of use — but why should you be bothered 
with carrying heavy game ? ” 

“Heavy?” The colonel had the bunch upon the 
end of his stick in an instant — and if any one had told 
him that Willie Seaford’s object was achieved thereby 
— that his visitor had been cunningly despatched home 
with a load, in order to prevent his making an incon- 
venient discovery at Pump Cottage, he would have 
scouted the idea. 

But Willie ran up and kissed his wife and detailed 
his prowess before he left for town. 


CHAPTER X. 


“AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF.” 

After all Ambrose never went to America. Perhaps 
he never meant to go. He had acted to admiration the 
part of a foolish person in a pet — shot his bolt, created a 
sensation, appeared suddenly by flashlight — and plumed 
himself on the grand effect. Et apres ? Apres was his 
own affair. 

It was petty-minded, — but Philip Ambrose was a 
petty-minded man. Sprung from a lowly origin, and 
for long unaccustomed to notice, his head had been 
turned by the sudden elevation to which he had attained, 
— and though he had the wit to hide this, and affect a 
desire for retirement and obscurity, in reality these only 
served his turn while he knew himself to be sought after 
by the world. Neglect would have been intolerable. 
For he had no inherent dignity, none of the humility 
of true genius ; on the contrary, he set an over-weening 
value on his intellect, and, as we have seen, was resolute 
that it should obtain its fullest recognition from others 
— though when this was accorded he could be pleasant 
enough. It was not till he met with a check, which 
his vanity could construe into an affront, that the real 
nature of the man was seen. 

And in the present instance it was not merely his 
amour propre but a deeper feeling which writhed beneath 
the idea that he, Ambrose of Baliol, one of the men of 

199 


200 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


the day, was no longer what he had been, no longer 
anybody, indeed, with Olivia Seaford. As much as he 
could care for any woman he cared for her, and was 
blinded to the impropriety of doing so by the limita- 
tions of his temperament. 

She was beautiful, she was alluring, she abounded 
in feminine charms and graces — and yet he remained 
platonically satisfied with his position as regarded her. 
All he asked for, was to be her friend — her very dear 
friend — her one and only friend — still, a friend and no 
more. 

She must, to be sure, be able to see in her friend 
the ideal she so obviously could not see in her husband, 
and yield him that absorbing devotion which would have 
been exquisitely ridiculous in the case of poor Willie 
Seaford. 

That she must do, but with that he would be con- 
tent ; — and who could find anything to cavil at in so 
reasonable a state of things ? 

He told himself that he coveted Olivia’s soul, not 
her person — and it did not occur to him that he had as 
little right to the one as to the other. If the earth- 
worm (by which sobriquet he mentally referred to 
Olivia’s husband) could not appreciate the treasure he 
possessed, of what use was it to the earthworm ? It 
was simply thrown away upon him — a jewel sparkling 
in a dust-bin ; another was free to acquire the jewel. 

By such sophistries a scholar accustomed to plaus- 
ible interpretations of inconvenient facts, found no diffi- 
culty in silencing any misgivings which arose out of an 
increasing desire for Olivia’s society, and an intensified 
pleasure in her upturned eyes and parted lips, as he 
towered metaphorically above her on the heights. She 
was his pupil, his disciple — above all, he reiterated, 
his friend. It was quite customary and natural for ill- 


AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF 


201 


mated wives to have friends of the other sex — close, 
intimate, ardent friends ; and, as long as these were 
not lovers in the accepted sense, what possible objec- 
tion could be taken to such a solace of their otherwise 
dreary lives ? 

Moreover, Mrs. Seaford was a prude. There was 
no danger for her, none. Her alarm at the unexpected 
descent of her lawful lord upon the scene, was weak and 
womanish, but he would not blame her for that — no, it 
was the message sent by Algy Rushington which was the 
real crux. It appeared to have been dictated not so much 
by fright as by a sudden revulsion of feeling, by which 
he, Ambrose, had now and then been already aggrieved. 

He had never been altogether satisfied about a certain 
little affair, telling himself that she had pushed him 
from her on the path. The restraint of her demeanour 
throughout the whole of the following afternoon had 
rankled. He did not like to feel that his touch was 
pollution, and yet “ Pollution ” was the only word he 
could think of, and language was his forte. He found 
himself saying ‘‘ Pollution ” over and over again. 

He had felt during that warm August day not ex- 
actly amorous, but more nearly so than he had ever been 
before. Olivia beneath a faint blue sky, with breezes 
like zephyrs playing about the tree-tops, had donned 
an airy fabric whose gossamer folds enhanced the grace 
of every undulating movement, — and though Ambrose 
would have scoffed at the idea of being moved by a 
muslin gown or even observing its effect upon the 
wearer, he had felt rather than seen her so fair, so 
sweet, so spirituelle as she glided towards him, that 
to slip his hand within her rounded arm was — well, 
perhaps it was hardly the thing to do, but it needed not 
to have been repulsed as it was. Decidedly there was 
a prudish spirit within. 


202 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


That being so, she was safe enough, if safety were in 
her mind. He understood ; and had never attempted a 
second transgression of the kind — but it had taken him 
some little time to regain his former footing, and the 
struggle to do so was a new turn of the game. He 
realised that his hold over Olivia Seaford was not 
absolute; he felt at times an almost overmastering 
curiosity to know what he might dare, and what not ? 
He confined himself to words, but he would have 
preferred — once her hand lay very near, a beautiful, 
slender hand with tapering fingers — and he looked at 
it. She put on her garden gloves, obnoxious coverings 
— Ambrose fancied he discerned why. 

And we know that Olivia on her part had her 
womanly instincts at work ; and that there actually was, 
as has been said, a vague consciousness of something 
in the air which at once harassed and exhilarated her, 
and caused her to lose her sleep at night and her 
serenity by day — so that the sudden drop of the curtain 
came none too soon for two people who were toying 
with edged tools, and already smarting beneath their 
pricks. 

Wrathful and wretched Ambrose now paced his 
solitary room. He was not repentant — good Heavens, 
what had he to repent of? He had bestowed on this 
woman the pure crystal of his virginal affections, done 
her the honour of discriminating between her and the 
herd of shallow creatures who were for ever running 
after him and thrusting themselves upon him — ye gods, 
he could not take a quiet walk at Oxford, but he must 
meet smiling faces under broad-brimmed hats, and 
see the footsteps slacken as he hurried past — and now 
that he had found one worth his notice and allowed her 
to bask in its sunlight, why should he think shame ? 
It was good for her and good for him. 


“AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF” 203 

He had learnt something from Olivia Seaford, and 
taught her yet more. But he had preserved the 
proprieties, kept himself within the bounds of strict 
decorum, and no man could do more. He might suffer 
— “ I am suffering,” he cried, fiercely. “ I am suffering 
the ignominy of being cast aside like an old shoe. She 
has had enough of me — all she wants of me. I have 
filled the gap caused by the absence of her lout of a 
husband, and have allowed myself to be tricked, cajoled, 
befooled. I took it that she saw the colossal difference 
between that lout and me. She does not. ...” He 
took another turn and resumed : — 

“ She flies to the one as readily as to the other — 
more readily, it seems, when it comes to choosing be- 
tween us. I was only a fad, a whim, something where- 
with to pass the time, when it hung heavy 'on her hands. 
She could divert herself with the poor scholar — but the 
poor scholar is not quite the worm you take him for, 
madam,” he lashed himself into fury; “he is not a 
twopenny-halfpenny plaything to be taken up and put 
down at your convenience.” And stung anew to 
acrimony by every fresh reflection, he formulated the 
project which was to be his bomb-shell. “ They won’t 
like this”; he closed the note when it was written. 
“ It will answer the purpose, I fancy. And if Mr. 
Seaford inquires into the meaning of it, so much the 
worse for Mrs. Seaford. I am not a man to be trifled 
with.” But he sat for some minutes thereafter with 
his head upon his hands. 

“ Lawks, sir, be you going off all in a jump like? ” 

It was worthy Mrs. Jones, the cowman’s wife, who 
stood in the doorway. Having cossetted and catered 
for her lodger to the fullest extent of her powers, mak- 
ing so little out of him that he himself in lavish vein, 
inspired by overflowing comfort, remonstrated, the dame 


204 the enlightenment of OLIVIA 

was not a little scared by the sudden demand for her 
bill, and request for Jones’s cart to be round at daybreak. 

“ Yes — yes, I’m going. Don’t trouble me, good 
woman.” Ambrose waved her aside impatiently. “ Do 
as I bid you, and see there’s no mistake about the cart.” 

‘‘Jones will see to it, sir.” 

“ Mind it’s punctual.” 

“ It’ll be punctual ; Jones is always punctual ” 

“That will do, then. I’m busy now.” Then, as 
she stood twirling her apron, “I said I was busy,” 
reiterated he, in a higher key, “ and you are hindering 
me. You need not be afraid of losing your money, if it 
is that you came about.” 

“ Oh, no, sir.” The gentle old creature flushed be- 
neath his coarseness. “ I never gave it a thought, sir.” 

“ Then for Heaven’s sake, go ” ; he turned her round, 
and as she hobbled away, snapped the lock of the door. 

Then he continued his packing which the writing of 
the note had momentarily suspended ; thrusting books, 
clothes, and oddments at random into the open port- 
manteau. How differently, how carefully and fasti- 
diously had he fitted everything in, on coming to this 
place ! Then it seemed a very paradise, and now ? Now 
he was no longer a precise bachelor whose posses- 
sions must be protected from injury and arranged to 
a nicety, — but a hot, ill-tempered man running away 
from a defeat, and sore with everything and every one 
he could associate with it. 

He even demurred to some items in the modest bill 
— whereas the day before he would have turned out his 
pockets with a bare glance at the total. 

“ I never ordered this, Mrs. Jones. Oh, no explana- 
tions, I simply didn’t order it, and I won’t pay for it.” 

But at this Mrs. Jones’s spirit rose. “ If you please, 
sir. I’ll send Jones.” 


“AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF” 205 

“ Eh ? What ? ” said Ambrose, astounded. 

‘‘ Since you won’t listen to me, sir, and it was Jones 

you spoke to about it ” but the cowman was not 

required. 

“ Never mind — never mind. I can’t be expected to 
remember every trifle,” quoth Ambrose, ungraciously. 
It was a mark of the garron in him that he never knew 
how to speak to inferiors. “ There, that settles it, I 
suppose?” — and he doled out the money as though he 
felt himself being cheated. 

“And such a pleasant-spoken gentleman as he was 
when he came ! ” sighed the old woman, as she watched 
the cart rattle up the lane in the grey morning light — 
she did not venture out of her kitchen, and no one sought 
her there for a friendly ‘ Good-bye ’ — “ so pleased with 
everything he was ; and though he bean’t like master as 
never comes nor goes wi’out his ‘ Shake a paw. Mother,’ 
and his pat on a body’s shoulder and his jolly laugh — 
still, I did think none the worse o’ he for that. Says I 
to Jones, ‘ We’re fair spoilt wi’ that dear blessed gentle- 
man at the House. And any friend o’ his,’ says I, ‘ shall 
be welcome to the best you an’ me’s got to give.’ An I’d 
worked my fingers to the bone for this one — but he goes 
off, and never notices I ain’t at the door! ” 

Ambrose’s thoughts were elsewhere, as may be 
supposed. He pulled his cap over his brows, and turned 
up the collar of his coat as he jogged up the familiar 
lane, and cast a bitter glance upon the small garden- 
door through which he had so often passed. The whole 
place was asleep — not a shutter unclosed — he had no 
need to fear observation, — and yet he breathed more 
freely when the last gate was passed. He could not 
endure to think that even an underling, even a dog 
should see him. 

And that Olivia, all unconscious of his proximity. 


206 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


should be sunk in peaceful slumber within those walls ! 
He had once had a glimpse of her with her hair unbound, 
and a vision of it overflowing her pillow rose before him 
now — “ I suppose I really did care for her more than I 
knew,” he stifled something not unlike a groan, “ but 
at any rate it is over. It is past and done with. She 
will not have a pleasant breakfast ; ” he smiled ironically. 
“ She thinks enough of me as a celebrity, an illustrious 
personage, to be annoyed at my defalcation, even if 
Seaford is obtuse enough not to read between the lines, 
and demand an explanation. Besides, she did, she does 
like me — oh, I think she likes me enough to be shocked 
and startled. America is a long way off ; ” — and as he 
proceeded on his journey he found himself saying again 
and again, “America is a long way off”. 

It seemed longer and longer as the train drew near its 
termination. Ambrose was no traveller, rather disliked 
motion and novelty, was shy of breaking new ground, 
and with all his knowledge ignorant on many points. 
Minor details which would have attracted rather than 
repelled some people loomed unpleasantly before his 
inexperience. He did not know what equipment to pro- 
vide for a voyage and a sojourn in a distant country. 
He was not a good sailor, and the North Atlantic is a 
rough ocean. Moreover, Bennett was an old friend and 
suited him as such — but as a companion at close quarters 
for a considerable length of time, he might pall. 

And next the question presented itself, in what light 
would Bennett see the proposition, supposing — for he 
had reached this point — the proposition were laid before 
him ? 

He might of course be delighted, but if not? If 
not, it would be awkward. He was not even sure if 
his friend were going alone or with others ; and it was 
on the cards that a party had been made up, consisting 


AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF” 207 


of men whom he did not know, whom he might not care 
for, and who might not care for him as an addition. 
There was a vulgar phrase which Ambrose had once 
heard, which recurred now to his memory as disagree- 
ably applicable to himself ; he felt that he had “ Bitten 
off more than he could chew,” and mentally added, 
“ Why not spit out the bite? ” 

Waterloo Station at eight o’clock in the morning is 
comparatively a quiet place ; and just because a little 
bustle and delay and difficulty with luggage and porters 
would not have been an unwelcome distraction, the 
solitary occupant of a first-class compartment was con- 
tested for and seized upon ere the train came to an 
actual stand-still — and Ambrose, still wavering as to his 
destination, and annoyed with the speed by which he 
was forced to fix on one, found himself almost immedi- 
ately in a cab and driving away with a frown upon his 
brow. 

He had given the driver Mr. Bennett’s address, but 
he luckily remembered that it was that of a private 
hotel, and, the hotel reached, he did not at once inquire 
for his friend. 

Neither did he secure a room ; he breakfasted — more 
for the sake of sitting down in a comfortable room than 
because he was hungry (for the cowman’s wife had not 
suffered him to depart without ample provision for his 
wants), and then opened a newspaper and buried himself 
in its folds, not to read, but to think. 

How would it be if he never looked up Bennett at all ? 

There was no need to do so ; and he felt less and 
less inclined for an interview which might leave him 
committed to a course of action growing momentarily 
more distasteful. Bennett might raise a hullabaloo of 
satisfaction, declare he was the very man he wanted, 
and hustle him off to secure his berth— horrible ! the 


208 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


berth once secured his doom was sealed. Hastily rising, 
he was on the verge of escape when the door opened to 
admit the very person he was fleeing from. 

And of course Bennett was jubilant. 

“ My dear Ambrose, what luck ! ” 

The two shook hands warmly, and Bennett looked 
round. 

“They’re not down yet,” observed he. “ Grey and 
Robins are here, too, and will be delighted to have this 
sight of you. Passing through, I suppose ? Were you 
here last night? We came in late, and went straight 
upstairs.” 

“ I only arrived an hour ago,” said Ambrose, easily 
— he had now made up his mind. “Yes, I’m passing 
through, and thought I might catch you.” 

“ You’ve had breakfast ? If I had known ” 

“ I can sit by while you have yours. So Grey and 
Robins are here ? Snug quarters, I can see. And you 
are off on Saturday ? Are they going too ? ” 

“ Grey is, not Robins. I say, why shouldn’t you 
come ? ” 

“ Ha — ha — ha — ! ” A laugh was the reply. 

“No, but seriously you would enjoy it. And if you 
could not stay our full time, you could get as far 
as Montreal, have a peep at Niagara, and break off 
when and where you like. I suppose you must be back 
by the middle of October, but we could do a lot before 
then.” 

“ Very tempting, but ” Ambrose shook his head. 

He was conscious of a feeling of intense relief at having 
kept his own counsel. 

“ We might find another ‘ Diplodocus,’ you know,” 
urged Bennett, jocosely. “ Hullo, here they come,” 
as the others entered. “ I am just telling Ambrose he 
should accompany us, Grey.” 


“AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF” 209 

Perhaps if Grey had been equally demonstrative, even 
at this hour something might have been done to shake 
the morning’s resolution — Philip Ambrose was un- 
doubtedly the great man of the quartet, and he glanced 
at the new-comer sharply as the last words were spoken 
— but although the response they elicited was sufficiently 
cordial, there was a blank look, and he caught it. 

That clinched the matter. 

“ Nothing would have pleased me more, but I am 
afraid it isn’t feasible. Not to bore you with reasons, it 
simply isn’t feasible ; ” and the speaker leaned his arms 
upon the table and softened his positive accents with 
friendly looks round — but it did not escape him that 
Grey’s brow lightened. “ I am due in all sorts of 
places,” he observed, as though to keep this longer to 
himself might be misconstrued. 

“ Oh, we know you are a swell and must keep 
engagements like Royalty,” nodded Bennett good- 
humouredly. “ It’s no go, then ; not even another 
‘ Diplodocus ’ will tempt you? You can’t even see us 
off, I suppose ? ” 

“ I fear not — I wish I could, but I fear not. And 
indeed I must be off now,” said Ambrose rising; and 
murmuring something about “A lot of things to do,” 
he took his departure with due empressement. 

And he did not know where to go, nor how to get 
through the day ! He had so settled down at the little 
cottage in the Surrey lane, his world had been so 
bounded by the low-lying hills on either side, and life 
beyond been so indistinct and a matter of such absolute 
indifference for the past month, that thus suddenly torn 
from his hold, he could but rock, limpet-like, upon the 
waves, and was ready, almost ready, to let them bear 
him whither they would. . . . 

“ Oh, Mr. Ambrose ! ” 


14 


210 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


Ambrose had deposited his luggage at another hotel, 
and was strolling up Bond Street aimlessly and miser- 
ably. 

At this hour he was wont to be sallying forth from 
the cottage door in the one direction his steps always 
took. He would have his books and papers in his hands, 
his cotton-covered umbrella under his arm (it would not 
be unfurled till later, when the noonday sun was strong), 
— and he would be wearing a cool suit of clothes and 
thin shoes, and a soft felt wide-awake would sit lightly 
upon his forehead. He would have a day of semi-work, 
semi-repose, before him, both wholly congenial. And 
he would have — Olivia. 

Now he was a drifting outcast in stiff regulation 
garments and a hard hat, and it is certain that his un- 
happiness was increased by his discomfort. The whole 
thing seemed of a piece. No single item which had 
contributed to his bygone bliss but was now missed and 
unconsciously bewailed. 

“ Oh, Mr. Ambrose ! ” 

Ambrose wheeled round. He was looking at prints 
in a window, and the last thing he expected was to be 
hailed from behind ; but he could not be angry with 
pretty Kitty Thatcher, who, having thus claimed his 
attention, held out her hand with frank, undisguised 
pleasure, and, that done, drew a breath and panted. It 
was not for her, but for her distinguished acquaintance 
to start conversation or not. 

“ You here ? ” said he, for the moment not quite 
prepared to do so — but he was so sick and tired of his 
own thoughts, and the rosy little face was so innocent 
of all offence, that on second thoughts he smiled re- 
sponsively down on it as he continued — “ And what may 
you be doing in London, Miss Kitty? ” 

“ I am just passing through ; that’s my maid,” re- 


AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF 


2II 


plied she, indicating a figure behind. “I am on my 
way to Scarborough. Won’t it be heavenly at Scar- 
borough? I do love the sea.” 

“Oh, you love the sea, do you? Yes, I daresay,” 
said Ambrose, absently. “ The sea is nice enough when 
you’re on land, but ” — and his thoughts went back to 
the rough Atlantic and the danger he had recently 
escaped. 

“ I know ; I don’t like it a bit when I’m in a boat ; 
but, Mr. Ambrose ” 

(“ Now she’s going to begin,” thought he. “ It will 
be her ‘ Dearest Olivia ’ in another moment ”) — and he 
hastily interposed: “Am I taking you out of your 
way? I’m an idler this morning, and perhaps you are 
busy? ” 

But it appeared she was not busy at all ; in fact, she 
had two hours to kill before her train started ; and to 
herself Miss Kitty added, with sly exultation, “Just 
think if people see me walking up Bond Street with 
Professor Ambrose ! ” — and peeped at him from under 
her eyelids, feeling much like a mouse who has captured 
a lion, and thinking of nothing and of nobody less than 
Olivia Seaford at the moment. 

Kitty had been about a good deal since she last saw 
Olivia. She was not disloyal, and the likelihood was 
that a return to her former surroundings would bring 
about an immediate resumption of former feelings, but 
for the present these were in abeyance. The people 
she had been staying among knew nothing of Olivia, 
but all of them knew the name of Philip Ambrose, and 
when it leaked out that he was a friend of the Thatchers, 
the importance of Miss Kitty Thatcher was vastly in- 
creased thereby. 

It would be fine to have something new to relate of 
her celebrity the next time his name came up in con- 
14 * 


212 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


versation — to say, He walked about with me the other 
day and we talked, etc. — hence her prompt disposal of 
the idea that she was busy. 

“And where are you bound for next?” inquired 
Ambrose, unconscious of having already put the ques- 
tion, whose answer had, in fact, gone in at one ear and 
out at the other. “ Oh, Scarborough — yes, very nice,” 
he continued in the same abstracted manner. “ Very 
nice, I daresay. I have never been there.” 

“ Come, now.” Kitty had no shyness, and she and 
Ambrose had been very friendly together under her 
father’s roof. Besides, she had now an instinct that 
something was wrong with him ; he looked dejected 
and downcast, not in the least formidable — she felt 
singularly at her ease. 

“Have you left Pump Cottage?” she adventured; 
and receiving a nod of assent : “ But you don’t want to 
go back to Oxford yet?” proceeded she; “I know it 
isn’t term time yet, and you always said you liked 
doing things impromptu, I remember that. Do come 
to Scarborough impromptu, Mr. Ambrose ? ” laughing 
into his face. (“ What a joke if he does ! ” said she, 
to herself.) 

“ You are the second person who has asked me to 
go off somewhere impromptu this morning. Miss Kitty.” 
He evaded an answer, but did not negative the pro- 
position, and she was shrewd enough to perceive this 
and press her advantage. 

“It is a splendid place, everyone says so, for over- 
worked people and all that. And nobody need know 
you were there — at first. Of course they would find you 
out ” — she smiled with open admiration — “ but that 
would happen anywhere after a time.” 

“ Oh, one is always liable to that,” allowed he, and 
to himself he added : “I might do worse. She is a dear 


“AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF” 213 

little thing, and it would get round to the Seafords that 
I was enjoying myself with her, which I should not be 
sorry for. Sooner or later they must learn that 
America fell through, and” — and half-laughing, half- 
serious, he discussed the pros and cons as they presented 
themselves. 

Three o’clocki found him at King’s Cross Station 
taking his ticket for Scarborough. 


“ I thought our friend Ambrose was by way of going 
on a trip to America,” observed Colonel Thatcher, meet- 
ing Willie Seaford the following week ; didn’t he give 
you to understand as much? ” 

“ He said so, or rather wrote it. We heard of him 
after he had gone,” replied the latter. “ It was a sudden 
idea, he said.” 

“As suddenly abandoned, then. What a comical 
fellow he is — hops about like a flea. It appears he is at 
Scarborough, where Kitty is stopping — oh ? ” as an in- 
voluntary exclamation betrayed his companion’s sur- 
prise, “ you hadn’t heard of any change of plans, then ? ” 
He shot a glance, but Willie was ready for it. 

“ Ambrose wouldn’t think it necessary to tell us of 
any change of plans, you know. No, we have heard 
nothing of him since he left.” 

“ And left in a hurry. Well,” continued the colonel, 
as his pause elicited no response, “ this is the end of his 
fine American trip ; he has got no further than Scar- 
borough — which is hardly in the way, either! Never 
was so amazed in my life. Eh ? ” 

“ I suppose he found it wouldn’t work,” observed 
Willie, calmly. “And Scarborough is a nice healthy 
place.” 

“ Nice place enough. I’ve a sister there, and Kitty 
is with her. But she did surprise us by saying in a 


214 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

letter to her mother to-day that they had been seeing a 
lot of Philip Ambrose. ‘ Philip Ambrose ? ’ said I, when 
my wife read it out. Ambrose? Nonsense, you’ve got 
hold of the wrong name. Ambrose has gone to America. 
But she let me see for myself, and it was ‘ Philip 
Ambrose,’ sure enough. Odd of the child to call him 
that, too ; but, however, it was our runaway and none 
other she meant.” 

“Why, runaway?” quoth Willie, in his matter-of- 
fact accents. “ You seem to have taken his departure 
as a personal — well, I suppose it was rather rude to you 
and Lady Fanny to ” 

“ Skedaddle in the night. And we had never set 
eyes on him after our return home, though it was we 
who introduced him to this part of the world, and through 
us he came to reside for a month at that cottage of yours ! 
Eh?— What?” 

“ We must take people as we find them, colonel. 
Kitty enjoying herself? This is her first flight from the 
nest on her own account, isn’t it? Jolly that for a 
young girl.” 

“I’ll tell you who she’s been meeting too; some 
more people you know — the Rushingtons. The Rushing- 
tons turned up the day before she wrote. Is their boy 
still with you, by the way? ” 

“ Poor chap — yes. We haven’t the heart to send 
him off, for though he’s always offering to go, Olivia 
seems to think he only does it because he fancies he 
must. And he’s useful, too, helping her with her 
visitors. We’ve got a houseful just now.” 

“ For the partridges, I suppose?” If he had been 
addressing any other man than Willie Seaford, there 
would have been a sarcastic intonation in Colonel 
Thatcher’s accents, for the partridges in question were 
hardly numerous, nor was the ground to be shot over 


“AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF” 215 

extensive — but he never found anything to laugh at in 
his unpretending neighbour, and honestly thought he 
might be harbouring a gun or two. The shooting, such 
as it was, was a recent acquisition. 

“Partridges? I say, sir, will you come down and 
have a day with me, either to-morrow or next day? 
There are about a score upon the premises, all told,” — 
Willie laughed good-humouredly ; “ but they are so 
mortally shy and hard to get at, that they give a little 
fun ; and I have only been out once, and only got two 
brace, after tramping for three hours, so the rest are 
still to be had.” 

“ Why, thankee; ” the colonel looked surprised and 
pleased. “ Very kind, Fm sure. I shall be delighted, 
but — hum, ha — are you sure you want me? A stiff old 
soldier, who can’t walk through stubble all day, you 
know ; and your friends ” 

“ I have none. It’s not worth asking men down for. 
I go by myself,” said Willie, simply. “ I thought you 
knew, sir ; it’s not shooting, it’s only pottering with a 
gun — and I only didn’t invite you before, because I 
thought you’d look down upon it,” and the matter was 
arranged. 

“That Seaford is as good a fellow as ever lived,” 
mentally asseverated the colonel, hurrying home post- 
haste, as pleased as a boy with the prospect before him. 
“ I hope he didn’t think I was fishing to be asked? I 
hope Fanny won’t think it sounds as if I had ? Nothing 
was further from my thoughts. It was Ambrose I wanted 
to find out about when I stopped Seaford; and I just 
said that about the partridges for something to say, not 
because I cared twopence about them.” And it did not 
occur to the astute gentleman that some one else had 
also made the partridges an excuse for getting off the 
subject of Philip Ambrose. 


2i6 the enlightenment of OLIVIA 


That some one had very nearly been startled out of 
the cautiousness wherewith Willie had armed himself. 
He expected to be spoken to about Ambrose, and had 
planned what he should say, and even the innocent 
look he should assume on such occasions, but Colonel 
Thatcher’s news was so unlooked for, not to say 
momentous, that he forgot all about his speeches and 
thought about the innocent air too late. 

To be sure, he reflected afterwards, he had not done 
badly, a little surprise was natural, and he had not 
gone beyond bare surprise, following it up with very 
well-assumed indifference. There had certainly been no 
sense of injury visible, and he heard himself saying 
“Scarborough is a nice, healthy place” with the satis- 
faction of a man who had made a point. Then he had 
got on to the partridges. 

He did not particularly want to go partridge shooting 
with Thatcher ; Thatcher was a boring old fellow — at 
least, well, he liked Thatcher well enough, but a whole 
afternoon in his company would be slow, not to add 
that he would probably turn up his nose at the sport, 
the sport would be on such a very small scale, — but he 
had been forced to circumvent his elderly neighbour 
somehow, and took the only method that presented 
itself. When he had seen Olivia he would know what 
to say and what to do, for of course the new develop- 
ment would require new treatment — but alone and 
unprepared, his only safety lay in getting off dangerous 
ground as fast as possible. 

“ At Scarborough ? ” — he now repeated to himself, 
— “at a rotten seaside place full of trippers? The sort 
of place that a known man who hates publicity would 
shun like the plague ? . . . And he must have gone 
there straight away — straight from here, after telling us 
he had ‘Suddenly decided to go to America’! Now 


“AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF” 217 

that’s a rum thing to have done, uncommonly rum — 
there must have been some meaning in it. A fellow 
doesn’t give out he is going to one place and take a bee- 
line for another without having some sort of reason for 
such a wheel-about-face. If he had skulked off without 
paying up, or if bills had been coming in — but mother 
Jones makes no complaint, and says there is nothing to 
forward, though she has his Oxford address in case 
there were. Well I can’t make head or tail of it any- 
how,” summed up straight-forward Willie, shaking his 
sagacious head: “Olivia! Olivia!” as he spied her 
over the garden gate, — “hi! come this way,” — and he 
hurried in. 

Olivia was quietly raking, but she turned at the 
sound of her name, and advanced rake in hand, with a 
promptitude that was something new. 

Olivia was not happy, but she had obtained a certain 
dull quiescence with things as they were, and though 
everything she did reminded her of Ambrose, and her 
pleasant tasks seemed to have lost their flavour now 
that she might pursue them unmolested, she got through 
her days somehow, and there was always Willie’s return 
to look forward to as the afternoon waned. 

He brought her books, newspapers, occasionally 
little presents of novelties which caught his eye — but 
it was himself and not his gifts she longed for. His 
cheerful presence threw a kind of protecting warmth 
around her, his interest extended to her minutest doings, 
while there were times when he only stood and smoked 
upon the path while she passed up and down and in and 
out of her borders, and all she wanted was to feel that 
he was there. 

But she was rather pleased than otherwise to per- 
ceive that now he had something to tell, some news to 
give of the outer world which was beginning to regain 


2i8 the enlightenment of OLIVIA 


a measure of interest for her. She had read leading 
articles again during the past few days — not without 
a sigh, for Ambrose had been wont to extract their 
essence for her benefit, adding thereto his own views 
in brilliant, forceful language — and she could not keep 
herself now from wondering if he would have agreed to 
an interpretation or sanctioned a step advocated by 
The Times? Still, she had read, she had been thank- 
ful for the distraction, and resolved upon the effort. 
So if Willie’s excitement meant that the German 
Emperor ? 

“ I say, Olivia, what do you think ? Ambrose ” 

The German Emperor and the affairs of nations went 
down before the last word ; a spasm shot through her 
veins. ‘‘ Come along, and I’ll tell you,” quoth Willie, 
turning her round. There’s no need for everybody to 
know. It’s the queerest thing you ever heard about 
Ambrose.” 

“ Has he ” — she struggled to speak calmly, “ has he 
written to you? ” 

Could he have written? Could he have dared to 
write ? And, if so, what ? Of what was he capable ? 
Of how much might his presumption 

“ You know he said in his note that he had ‘ Suddenly 
decided to go to America,’ ” proceeded Willie, all un- 
conscious, and bursting with information. “ He did 
say that, didn’t he ? Those were his very words, weren’t 
they?” 

“ Certainly they were, I have the note.” 

“You have? I’m glad of that. At least, it’s no 
matter, for we can both testify' that he wrote ” 

“ Never mind what he wrote, Willie, what is it now ? ” 
She breathed a shade more freely. Ambrose could not 
have done what for one awful moment she had half feared, 
written a wild, mad confession, or appeal, or 


“AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF” 219 

‘‘You’re not listening,” said Willie, shaking her. 
“ I’m going to give you a fine shock. You often say 
my shocks don’t come off, but this is a fizzer. Come, 
guess ; I’ll give you three guesses — though three is hardly 
fair, because I’ve already given you a sort of lead 
over ” 

“ I’m not in the mood for guessing, Willie, dear. 
Have you not tantalized me enough ? ” said Olivia, 
quietly. “ You have heard from Mr. Ambrose ? ” 

“ Not I. Not he. Devil a word has he written to 
me — or to any one for that matter. It was Thatcher 
who told me. I met him on the road just now — oh, 
you needn’t think he got anything out of me,” he 
caught himself up to interpolate, mistaking the expression 
on her face, “ you needn’t be afraid ; I was as cool as a 
cucumber — after the first. At the first I must own I 
did feel rather taken aback, for it was beastly mean the 
way he sprang it upon me, knowing well enough ” 

“ It? What?” She tried to be patient, but there 
was a tremulous sensation beginning to make itself felt. 
If only he would be quick before it grew stronger ! 
“ What, Willie, what ? ” she urged. 

“ Why, this about Ambrose. This I’m going to tell 
you about. And, by the way the old colonel hurled it 
at me, I’m sure he suspects there’s a screw loose some- 
where. He scents there’s been a split of sorts between 
us. He was never so desperately interested and so sure 
I should be interested in what Ambrose is about, for 
nothing.” 

“ But what is he about ? And why should we not 
be interested? ” said she. “ It was rude and ungrateful 
of Mr. Ambrose to part from us as he did, but we need 
not harbour ill-feeling towards him on that account. 
He is done with — if he chooses to be done with,” and 
she drew up her head. 


220 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


“Just what I said to myself. I said you’d know how 
to take it. But anyhow that ferrety old Thatcher got 
no change out of me, when he tried to make me join 
him in letting off fireworks. He was ‘ Never so amazed 
in his life ’ — and a lot more of the kind. Great rot, I 
call it. Why shouldn’t a man please himself, especially 
a bachelor like Ambrose, who has no one else to please ? 
His goings and comings are nothing to us or to any one ; 
and why that old ass Thatcher should be so excited over 
them — but all I said was that Scarborough was a nice, 
healthy place ” 

“ Scarborough ? ” 

“ That’s where Ambrose is — not in Yankeeland at 
all ! Went straight from here to Scarborough, if you 
please — and has stayed there ever since ! ” 

“Scarborough?” echoed Olivia, to whom the awe- 
some revelation came as such an anti-climax and also as 
such a rebound from the tension within, that she could 
not forbear laughing outright. “ My dear Willie, has all 
this fuss been about nothing but because Mr. Ambrose has 
gone to Scarborough?” — and she laughed and laughed. 

We have said that Olivia was not a woman easily 
moved to mirth, but when she was her laugh was de- 
lightful, irresistible, and her husband for one never 
failed to join in it. He did so now heartily; he did 
not detect a hysterical note in her merriment. 

“There, now, that’s what I said,” said he, as soon 
as he could speak. “ All this commotion because — and 
why the dickens shouldn’t Ambrose go to Scarborough 
if it pleases him ? Rather he than I. That’s what I 
said, at least I think I did, to Thatcher.” 

“I daresay you didn’t, Willie; but — Colonel 
Thatcher has heard from Mr. Ambrose, then ? ” In 
her relief she was quite chatty and disposed for more. 

“Not he! Not a bit of it. That’s the point. 


“AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF 


221 


Ambrose lies low, but Kitty lets out in a letter to her 
mother the news that throws all the fat upon the 
fire.” 

“ Yes, I knew Kitty was going to Scarborough,” said 
Olivia, after a minute’s pause. “ She wrote and gave 
me her address there about a week ago. She was going 
to her aunt, Mrs. Hothfield.” 

“So Thatcher said. And now she w’rites that 
Ambrose — and, by the way, the Rushingtons have 
turned up there, too — but they don’t count. It’s the 
deuced queer behaviour of Ambrose that ” 

“ But, Willie, you agreed with me just now that it 
was absurd to take Mr. Ambrose to task for going to 
Scarborough.” 

“So it is, but you miss the point, my girl ; you’re a 
very clever woman, but you miss the point for once. It’s 
not because he goes to that place or any place, but 
because he says he is going somewhere when he has no 
need to say anything, and nobody asks any questions — 
and then goes somewhere else and keeps dark about 
it!” 

“ That certainly sounds very deceitful and dramatic, 
Willie.” She was grave enough now, though affecting 
to jest. “ You two gossipy men ” 

“ But I tell you I didn’t gossip ; I pooh-poohed the 
whole thing — to Thatcher. Only to you do I say 
that there was something sneaky, not quite open and 
above-board in a man giving out that he was on the 
rush, so much on the rush that he couldn’t spare 
five minutes ” 

“ He did not say that, you know.” 

“ At any rate, that he could not wait till a decent 
hour in the morning to go, so that he could have seen 
me first and said a proper ‘ Good-bye ’ — and then, ha, 
ha, ha! it’s too ridiculous, taking his ticket for Scar- 


222 THE ENLIGHTENMENT GF OLIVIA 


borough! Til eat my hat if there wasn’t something 
more than appeared in that, Olivia.” 

Olivia said nothing. 

“You might call on Lady Fanny and see what she 
has to say about it? ” proceeded he, tentatively. 

This was just what Olivia was thinking; having got 
over her first feeling, she was beginning to experience 
a certain curiosity, even a certain sympathy with Colonel 
Thatcher’s excitement. Ambrose having severed his 
connection with The Willow House might not care to 
“Intrude” (this his own word) upon herself and her 
husband to the extent of announcing his change of 
plans, but why should he seek to puzzle the Thatchers ? 
A few lines would have left nothing to wonder about or 
cavil at ? She decided to call on Lady Fanny. 

“ I’ll go with you, if you like ? ” said Willie. “ We 
owe them a proper after-dinner call. You know we 
never made it.” 

“ I went one day, but Lady Fanny was out. I took 
Mr. Ambrose and Algy there ; ” said Olivia, and stopped 
abruptly. How well she remembered the day ! Ambrose 
had been in his best mood, genial and appreciative, even 
merry, making little jokes with Algy about a certain 
disputation the two fell into, and amiably diverted when 
the boy stuck to his point. He had insisted on taking 
the back seat ; and as Lady Fanny Thatcher was not 
at home, the three had proceeded for a long drive, all 
in the best of humours with each other. 

At that time Algy had not shown any dislike of Mrs. 
Seaford’s favoured companion, and the latter had viewed 
the crippled lad with an indulgence which disappeared 
as the two grew to know each other better. Ambrose 
would be compassionately solicitous for Algy’s comfort — 
to Olivia’s delight ; and though he once made the mis- 
take of offering to carry him in at the end of a long day — 


AMERICA IS A LONG WAY OFF 


223 


the day in question — it was done with such obviously 
good intention that if poor Algy was vexed and affronted, 
another person thought he had no need to be so. 

It all rose before Olivia now, like a picture suddenly 
illuminating a blank wall, and she felt a little sick as 
she looked at the picture. How could she, how could 
she ? Was it really herself who sat up there in her high 
barouche, smiling and prattling, intoxicated by the 
splendour of the summer day, the air, the motion, the 
sweet scents from the hedge-rows and — something else, 
something she was now ashamed to think of. Could 
she have been that vain, chattering creature, laying 
herself out for flatteries, keeping up the ball of badinage 
and repartee with ever-increasing freedom and success ? 
Occasionally there were flashes of real wit in the non- 
sense and personalities. 

But she caught Algy’s eye upon her once or twice 
towards the end of the day. The boy grew grave as she 
and Ambrose made more and more of each other. Oh, 
that she could wipe out the scene ; wipe it from her own 
memory — and from theirs ! 

But she did not refuse her husband’s escort to call 
again upon the Thatchers ; reflecting that the call must 
be made, and that no one but herself, no one at The 
Grange, at any rate, knew anything of what had 
happened on the former occasion, and she clung to 
Willie now. 

“ Your aunts won’t expect to come? ” A couple of 
maiden aunts constituted the “ Houseful ” of which he 
had spoken to Colonel Thatcher, and we may add that 
it was sheer fluster and nothing else which made him 
grandiloquent. No one ever accused Willie Seaford of 
swaggering. “ We could go in the dog-cart,” proceeded 
Olivia, considering, “ and they can have the carriage to 
go where they please.” 


224 the enlightenment of OLIVIA 


“That will do famously. I haven’t driven you in 
the dog-cart for ages.” He looked pleased at the idea. 

“ At four o’clock to-morrow, then. You are at home 
to-morrow, aren’t you ? ” 

“ Yes. But I say; four is rather early ” 

“ We might take a little round first.” 

“ Oh, that’s all right,” quoth Willie jubilantly, — 
and before he went indoors he strolled round by the 
stables and casually mentioned to the coachman, in the 
hearing of the groom, that he was going to drive their 
mistress out next day. 


CHAPTER XL 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS ON HERO-WORSHIP. 

And the following morning a little incident occurred 
which made him glad that he had done so. 

He was walking with Olivia in a new plantation 
which had been formed to border the meadow brook, 
and they were calling each other's attention to its 
growth and promises, when their progress was arrested 
by the head gardener, who approached cap in hand. 

Jenkyns, albeit a valuable servant, was a surly 
fellow with every one but his mistress, for whom he 
entertained profound veneration, and whose supremacy 
in his special domain had long been established. What 
“She” said (he invariably thought of her as “She,” 
and the one “She” in the world for him) was law; 
her approval was the sole meed of praise he ever 
coveted — whilst its withdrawal would make him a man 
to be feared and avoided by his subordinates until all 
was smooth again. 

Alas ! during the past months Jenkyns had felt 
himself superseded, and felt it as only a favoured 
underling can. He had no redress, no means of 
airing his wrongs, far less of remedying them ; while 
day by day there took place fewer and fewer of those 
confabulations and consultations his soul loved, and 
evening by evening he had to leave off work unsustained 
by the nightly inspection of what had been accomplished, 
225 15 


226 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


which had never been omitted, without some reason for 
it, in his annals hitherto. 

Too loyal to his mistress to point this out to others, 
in his own mind the poor ill-used and deserted man did 
not scruple to ascribe the change to the influence of 
Mr. Ambrose, whom he naturally hated in consequence, 
— but had it not been for a passage-of-arms between the 
two on the very day before Ambrose left, this might 
never have come to the surface. 

Jenkyns had defied his supplanter, but he fancied 
that the supplanter had got the better of him for all 
that, else why did “She” still continue indifferent and 
elusive ? Brooding over and magnifying every petty 
alteration in Olivia’s habits and demeanour, he resolved 
on the bold stroke he was now about to take. 

“ If you please, sir? ” It was perhaps the first time 
Mr. Seaford’s gardener had ever spontaneously addressed 
himself to his master, his mistress standing by. 

“ Hullo, Jenkyns? Anything wrong? ” replied Willie, 
foreseeing a grievance. “ Must have your grumble, eh ? 
What is it ? Water supply short ? Leaf-mould rotten ? ” 
He laughed pleasantly, but the gloom on the brow before 
him did not lighten. 

“ No, sir. ’Taint nothin’ o’ that sort, sir,” replied 
Jenkyns, with emphasis. “ I didn’t like to trouble you 
before, sir: thinkin’ there was some mistake and that 
you would speak to me yourself, but ” — the storm burst 
— “ what I wants to know is this, how many people is to 
give orders in this ’ere garden? I’m told this an’ I’m 
told that ; and one says one thing and one another ; and 
I’m that put upon ” — he was gathering velocity and a 
check, if one were to be made at all, must be made on 
the instant. 

“ Tut-tut ; come, come ; my good fellow, it seems to 
me you have little enough to complain of in that line,” — 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


227 


even the good-natured Willie could not refrain from 
the retort, so notorious was Jenkyns’s independence. 
“No one in my service is less under authority ” 

“Not while you are at home, sir; and I’ve never 
complained o’ you, sir ” 

“ Oh, you haven’t ? Well, on the whole,” quoth 
Willie, the corners of his mouth twitching — “ however 
let’s have it out. Here’s Mrs. Seaford would be more 
sorry than anybody that your feelings should be hurt,” — 
and he looked at Olivia, but though she hurriedly 
murmured something, it was not the whole-hearted 
assent that the aggrieved one felt he had a right to. 
Speak now he would. 

“ Everythin’s gone wrong while you was away, sir. 
I never knew nothin’ like it before. There’s that young 
Mr. Algy, he’s broken two teeth o’ my best rake ” 

“ Oh, Jenkyns, you know I promised you a new 
one,” — but Jenkyns steadily averted his face from his 
mistress, he was not to be won over. 

“ Messages ? I don’t hold wi’ messages, not bein’ 
used to sich,” proceeded he, dourly; “but I’ve taken 
them, no one can say I haven’t taken them — though 
they never come to me i’ that way afore; through a 
stranger, and him has had the use o’ my best tools, an’ 
a barrer to sit upon, an’ took up in an hour a whole 
border o’ young plants mistaking o’ them for weeds ” — 
with profoundest scorn. “ But there, Mr. Algy ain’t no 
gardener, but he’s a gentleman^ which there’s one as 
isn’t.” 

“You mean Mr. Ambrose. What is your complaint 
against Mr. Ambrose? ” 

“Interfering i’ my garden. Givin’ orders i’ your 
place. Them’s my complaints, sir. Who’s he to be 
layin’ his commands on me, a callin’ o’ me from my 
work — ‘ Jenkyns — Jenkyns ’ — a settin’ there at his ease ; 

15 * 


228 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


an’ when I comes ‘ Oh, Jenkyns,’ says he, as superior 
like as if the whole place belonged to him ? * I want 

you,’ says he. ‘ Come nearer,’ he says. ‘ I’m very busy, 
sir,’ says 1. ‘ Well, it’s got to be done, anyhow,’ says 

he ; ‘ I can’t endure it another day,’ he says. ‘ Just you 
go down to the cottage and take your men with you,’ 
says he. ‘ You see that tree down there ? ’ (it’s the 
chestnut with the pink blooms, sir, as you’ve always 
said made a nice bit o’ colour, looked at from here) — 
‘ down with it,’ says he. ‘ Makes my room too dark,’ he 
says. ‘ I’m not goin’ to cut down’ no trees at your 
orders,’ says I — and with that he rounds on me and 
abuses my imperence, an’ we has it out ; then he goes 
to missis ” — (Olivia had turned away, and the speaker 
drew nearer, all the accumulated jealousy within swell- 
ing to his lips) — he goes to missis and poisons her agin 
me.” 

“No, no; nonsense, Jenkyns, nonsense. You had 
only to speak to your mistress.” 

But Jenkyns’s hand was upraised. 

“My word agin his?” — he laughed unpleasantly. 
“ Nothin’ that I nor any one else said agin Mr. Ambrose 
would ha’ been listened to for a moment, sir. It’s that, 
sir, I come about. Is he to come atween us ? me as has 

served her faithfully ” 

“Ha-ha-ha! Olivia! I say, Olivia ! ” 

In his utter amazement and matchless indignation 
Jenkyns stepped back right into the box-border behind. 

“Olivia! Come back, come here,” cried her husband, 
his accents bubbling with merriment. “We’ve got to 
the bottom of this at last. Poor Jenkyns has been 
mortally affronted by our friend Ambrose. Ambrose, in 
the clouds as usual, has given dire offence to Jenkyns. 
Cheer up, man,” to him; “your mistress will set it 
right in two words. Come, dear,” to her, “ speak up 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


229 


for our absent friend.” (A slight, a very slight, ac- 
centuation on the word “ Our ” was meant for both his 
auditors.) “ You know Ambrose better than I,” con- 
tinued Willie, genially, “ and can vouch for it. I’m sure, 
that he meant no harm. He has an awkward manner, 
isn’t that it ? Yes. And as for poisoning your mind 
against our faithful Jenkyns ? Of course. So now we’ll 
go and inspect the tree. I presume it is still standing, 
eh, Jenkyns ? Ha-ha-ha ! ” 

“ And that’s all I gets for dooin’ my dooty I ” But 
it was a cowed and paralysed Jenkyns who stared 
stupidly after the retreating couple, and hearkened to 
their intermingling voices dying away in the distance. 
Never having dared to look at Olivia he had not seen 
that she was white to the lips, and his discomfiture was 
complete. 

And it was to be yet more complete, if such a phrase 
is permissible, within the next hour. “ Your mistress 
and I have had a tussle, Jenkyns. She stands by you, 
and says the tree is to remain. I say, Mrs. Jones’s next 
lodger must not have to complain of a dark room. We 

can’t agree. However, as you are two to one ” and 

he shrugged his shoulders. 

Two to one ? ” — the words were music in poor 
Jenkyns’s ears. Already repentant and miserable, he 
could only mutter something about “Willingness to 
obey orders from them as had the right to give them,” 
and look the contrition he felt. 

“ Well, well ; it’s all right now. But don’t take 
fancies into your head another time,” quoth Willie, 
clearly; “else, you see, it might lead to your and my 
parting. You’d be sorry to go and I’d be sorry to lose 
you — and Mrs. Seaford ” — Jenkyns’s breath came short 
— a garden without her? — “Mrs. Seaford would never 
forgive me if I turned you away,” concluded his 


230 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

master, nodding at him ; so don’t oblige me to, you 
know.” 

“And that draws your teeth, my boy,” added Willie 
to himself, and whistled softly as he turned away. 
“ You’ll think twice before you make insinuations to me 
again,” — but even Olivia imagined that he looked on 
Jenkyns’s behaviour as rather a joke than otherwise, and 
half expected him to make a story of it to the Thatchers 
presently. 

Should she hint that he had better not ? But now 
whenever she wished to speak of Ambrose there was 
that weak trembling in her limbs and rising in her throat 
which frightened her, and which Willie might grow to 
notice if it showed too prominently — nothing that could 
happen in Lady Fanny’s drawing-room would be worth 
the risk of that. She decided to let him alone and trust 
to his forgetfulness. 

Besides, Willie had seemed to blunder less of late 
than he used to do, and she had once told him so. “A 
fellow had need to be an awful fool if he can’t learn by 
giving his mind to it what his wife likes and dislikes,” 
said he. “I’m slow, but give me time — give me time, 
Olivia, and I’ll get there.” She found herself repeating 
the phrase afterwards. 

On the present occasion she was dressing for her 
call when her husband tapped at the door. 

“ Oh, Willie, it’s not four o’clock yet.” 

“ I know,” said he ; “ it’s a quarter to, but I wanted 
to see what you were putting on ? ” 

“ What I am putting on ? ” echoed Olivia, in surprise. 
He trusted so implicitly to her taste, and was so uni- 
formly satisfied with the result, that she could not re- 
member ever having had an inquiry beforehand till now. 
“ Why this,” continued she, looking down at herself. 
“ It’s nothing new ; I have had it all the summer.” 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


231 


“Hum — ha?” He regarded dubiously the light 
clinging fabric whose delicate folds fell softly — too softly 
— about her slender frame, (it was the same filmy robe 
she had worn on a notable occasion when Ambrose had 
been moved to transgress, but being unaware of any link 
between the circumstances it was still in frequent use, 
and was, indeed, rather a favourite). “ But I say, it’s 
not midsummer now, you know,” expostulated Willie ; 
“isn’t that just a little thin? Haven’t you anything 
warmer ? ” 

“ I can put on a wrap in the dog-cart. And there is 
no wind ; one never feels cold on an absolutely still day 
like this.” 

“ A wrap, eh? So you can, only ” 

“ Lady Fanny’s rooms are always full of sun, and 
she often has a fire besides.” 

“ Yes, I know,” but he still remained dissatisfied. 

“ What is it, Willie ? There is something you don’t 
like about me ; what is it ? ” Olivia looked disturbed 
and a little impatient ; it was so seldom that Willie did 
not like anything and everything about her. 

“ Oh, it’s nothing,” said he, hastily. “ Oh, I 
daresay you are all right. You know best what’s worn 

and all that. Tt only seemed to me ” again he 

hesitated and stopped. 

“If you are going to be all day about it,” said 
Olivia, but not ill-humouredly, “ I shall never find out 
what’s wrong till it’s too late to alter it.” 

“ You would alter it? Well then, then I suppose 
I’d better — it’s only that you do look such a slip of a 
creature unless you are bulked out a bit,” he tried to 
laugh, not quite successfully — “ there’s so little of you 
that it falls away to nothing in that butterfly’s-wing 
concern. I don’t want the Thatchers to think — that’s 
to say Lady Fanny will be taking me to task for letting 


232 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

you run down — for you are a little run down, dear, 
that’s a fact ; and people seeing you for the first time, 
might — might notice it.” 

“ Am I as bad as that ? ” said Olivia, in rather a low 
voice. 

“ As bad as what ? You’re not ‘ Bad ’ at all, you’re 
only what you often are at the end of the summer, 
rather washed out.” He hunted about for the word and 
brought it forth triumphantly. “ Oh, it’s no matter ; it 
will soon right itself now that the hot weather is gone, 
and I’m here to look after you.” 

“ Yes, Willie, I always flourish best when you are 
here to look after me,” — but she was obviously dis- 
tressed and thoughtful. “I did not know I had become 
a fright, Willie.” 

“ You never looked better, that’s to say prettier, in 
your life. There now, don’t take it to heart about the 
other thing ; we can’t make a big woman of you what- 
ever we do.” 

“ I could change to a coat and skirt, Willie.” 

“ Could you ? ” He caught at the idea. “ And you 
wouldn’t mind ? It wouldn’t bother you ? There’s lots 
of time, you know ; only it does seem a shame when 
you’re actually ready — it isn’t worth the trouble,” — but 
he looked wistful. 

“ It is worth the trouble if it pleases you. Now be 
off,” she ran on, seeing his face flush with pleasure, and 
shy with herself at having called up the flush, — and she 
rang the bell for Laurette with one hand and set to 
work unhooking and untying with the other so vigor- 
ously as to check any demonstration of gratitude he 
might otherwise have made. “ Get away, get away, 
Willie,” — and Willie had to go. 

“ Laurette — quick — your master thinks this dress 
too cold for the dog-cart ; give me — let me see — a thick 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


233 


warm coat and skirt. Not that,” said Olivia decidedly, 
as Laurette offered one for inspection ; “ he will object 
to that too. Yes — the brown. No, I haven’t colour 
for brown to-day.” After a moment’s hesitation — “ Oh, 
that old purple thing? Well, I suppose it will do, 
though I always hated it,” and she thrust herself into the 
despised purple. 

“The hat, at least, will become Madame,” observed 
Laurette, tendering consolation in the shape of a large 
felt hat with shaded plumes curling over the brim, “ and 
there is no wind. Madame can wear the hat,” and in a 
few minutes Madame was again fully equipped. 

“Does this please you better, Willie?” She de- 
scended to the hall. “ I think myself that I look a 
frump, but ” 

“ Aye, that’s grand,” cried he, heartily; and hearing 
his cheerful voice, and seeing him bustle about providing 
his own gear, and noting the alacrity with which he 
sprang to his seat and helped her into hers, she was 
persuaded that the look which had startled her in his 
yearning eyes, was due to a mere passing qualm or, more 
likely still, was the figment of her own imagination. 

Lady Fanny Thatcher was at home when, an hour 
later, a dog-cart drove past her window, and, looking up, 
she had a glimpse of the Seafords, husband and wife, 
seated therein. 

Lady Fanny had had Olivia in her thoughts a good 
deal that day. It may be remembered that she had had 
a letter from Kitty the morning before, and Kitty’s 
letter had been in some respects so odd and unsatis- 
factory, so unlike those the child was in the habit of 
sending, that her mother would very much have liked 
to have been on sufficiently intimate terms with Olivia 
Seaford as to permit of her taking the latter’s opinion 
upon it. 


234 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

Olivia had been Kitty’s chosen confidante — so Kitty 
said — during the past twelve months ; Kitty had boasted 
that she “Told Olivia everything” (it was not always 
particularly pleasant to hear this, but parents must put 
up with such trifles, we know) ; and Lady Fanny’s best 
hope was that expansiveness on the part of the speaker 
was hardly rewarded by the same meed of interest on 
the part of the hearer. In brief, she shrewdly suspected 
that, though the one might talk, it by no means followed 
the other listened. 

Now and then, however, Kitty would let fall some 
pearls which had dropped from the lips of her princess, 
and these had seemed to indicate that Olivia, to whose 
natural abilities the elder lady had always done justice, 
could also exhibit good sense and good feeling on oc- 
casion. 

“ And she certainly does know Kitty ” — Lady Fanny 
sighed and pondered. “ If it had been any one but Mr. 
Ambrose,” pursued she further — and could not make up 
her mind. 

Kitty’s letter had been full of Ambrose from beginning 
to end. First there was the extraordinary luck of meet- 
ing him — “Just after I had posted my letter to you, 
the one I wrote at Didcot and posted in London ” — 
then the wonderful triumph of carrying him off to Scar- 
borough — (“ Where I don’t believe he had ever thought 
of going” !) — next, the handsome way in which he had 
been received by her relations and included in all their 
doings — and, lastly, there were effusive and slightly 
incoherent remarks about himself, and he was “ Mr. A.” 
on the last page. 

“ Is there nothing but about that fellow?” growled 
the young lady’s papa, losing patience at last. 

But on second thoughts the colonel cheered up. 
Kitty’s excitement meant nothing; the little goose was 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


235 


always losing her head, and having a piece of really 
startling information to give, she naturally made the 
most of it. As for her taking Ambrose where he did 
not mean to go ? — stop, how did she word it ? where she 
did not “Believe he had ever thought of going”? 
“ Fol-de-rol ! ” said Colonel Thatcher. 

“ He may choose to let her think so,” pursued the 
astute colonel, “ but, mark my words, Philip Ambrose 
never gave out he was going to America and got no 
farther than Scarborough, without having his own 
reasons for doing so, and those reasons had nothing to 
do with our vain little Kitty. I’d like to see Olivia 
Seaford’s face when she hears about this letter — that’s 
to say, if she didn’t know before,” — and he threw him- 
self in Willie’s way the same afternoon. 

How he fared with Willie we know, and we know 
also, though Thatcher did not, to what he owed the 
agreeable prospect of a day in the stubble, over which 
he had cast many a longing eye. 

He had told himself that Seaford would never ask 
him ; that probably he had acquired the shooting with 
an eye to his City friends who, less lucky than himself, 
could not alford to go farther afield for their sport, and 
would make a fuss about a few partridges in a few fields. 
Up went the colonel’s nose at the idea — but now he 
viewed the matter in a different light. He was to have 
Seaford’s company and Seaford’s shooting, and Seaford 
was a damned good fellow. In the pleasure of rubbing 
and polishing up his old gun and cocking it to his eye, he 
gave no further thought to Philip Ambrose, and never 
requested to hear Kitty’s letter read again. 

“The Seafords, did you say ? ” cried he, starting up 
from behind his newspaper, as Lady Fanny, who sat 
nearer the window, announced generally the advent of 
visitors. “ Ha, come to tell me what hour we start to- 


236 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

morrow? I have been expecting a message.” And he 
hurried to the door. 

“ Our nearest neighbours,” explained her ladyship to 
a couple left behind. “You noticed the house yester- 
day ? ” 

“ The house with the lovely garden ? ” A fashionable 
elderly woman, glad of any break in the boredom of a 
quiet country visit, looked up with the first signs of 
animation Mrs. Loring had evinced that day. “ Then, 
my dear Fanny, you must positively arrange for us to see 
that garden. I love to see new places and ” 

“ And people,” jeered her husband. “ She calls it 
‘ Places ’ ; but give Edith a chance of running up new 
acquaintances (though Lord knows she has more than 
she can get through already, working at ’em day and 
night), and she’ll drag you to the ends of the earth.” 

“ Nonsense, Henry. Fanny, don’t listen to him. 
He wouldn’t care if he never saw a fresh face, and that 
is so dull. But do tell me about these — Seafords, is 
that the name? — ^just give me my cue before they come 
in,” in a breathless undertone. “Are they desirable? 
Are you intimate? Is that place their own property? 
And are there any young men — for Kitty, you know? ” 

“There are no young men,” said Lady Fanny, 
coldly. “For the rest, you will see for yourself” — as 
the door opened. 

But though voices were heard outside, it was only the 
footman who entered, looking over his shoulder, and as no 
one followed, he made for a table and proceeded to set it 
conveniently for tea. Colonel Thatcher was exhibiting 
some trophies in the hall, one in particular which had only 
just been set up, and Mrs. Loring seized her opportunity. 

“ Am I to be civil, Fanny ? ” 

“ She means is she to ask them to call in South 
Street ? ” appended her interpreter. 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


237 


“ Do be quiet, Henry. I only desire to know Fanny’s 
wishes — and whether we are to be chatty and friendly, 
or hold these people at a distance? ” 

“ If Olivia Seaford does not hold you at a distance,” 
for the life of her Lady Fanny could not repress the 
retort, “you are very safe to be friendly with her, 
Edith.” 

“ And that’s one for you,” came in a whisper on 
Edith’s other side. She said to herself that it was a 
pity Henry had not gone for that walk his cousin John 
invited him to. 

And she thought so still more within the next few 
minutes when her practised eye discerned that the 
newcomers, who were being ushered in in Colonel 
Thatcher’s best manner, were more than likely to re- 
ceive in due course her parting formula, “ I hope we 
shall see you in South Street ! ” 

It is true that Willie alone might not have merited 
this reward. He was a fine-looking man, with a good- 
humoured manner which passed well enough — but Mrs. 
Loring had not yet learned that he was rich, and would 
have hesitated as to what amount of attention The 
Willow House (which was not a pretentious place, and 
had no deer park nor avenues — no entourage, in short) 
entitled him to on his own account — but taken in con- 
junction with his wife, all hesitation was soon at an 
end. 

Olivia, reduced to her old purple coat and skirt, and 
only saved from being an utter frump in her own estima- 
tion by the hat with the shaded plumes, was in reality 
quite smart enough for a country call, and Mrs. Loring, 
who was also a dresser, took in at once the cut of her 
sleeve and hang of her skirt. 

And what a face — what a figure — voice and manner 
too ! 


238 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“ I say, Edith was regularly flummergasted, wasn’t 
she?” grinned the colonel in private afterwards. “She 
never thought we could produce such a fine lady in this 
little backwater of ours. Honest Willie did very well 
too ” — after a pause. “ Willie’s improved of late. It’s 
not only that he is half the size, but he seems to have 
pulled himself together in every way — oh, you’ve noticed 
it ? Well, what do you make of it ? ” 

“ He is trying to please his wife,” said Lady Fanny, 
quietly. 

To return to the drawing-room party. Satisfied by 
the demeanour of her hostess as well as by her own 
observations that she would not be committing herself 
to what she might repent of, the London lady threw 
herself con amove into what was going forward, and was, 
she confessed afterwards, astonished — really astonished 
at Fanny’s remark concerning her fair neighbour, which 
had prepared her for quite a different sort of person — 
“ the sort of person you know who would stare at one 
through an eyeglass and let all one’s little efforts drop ” 
— whereas Mrs. Seaford was charming and had the 
prettiest little hesitation in her manner — “so different 
from the assured manner of sow^ young married women ” 
— and so on, and so on. 

Olivia on her part was grateful to Mrs. Loring for 
her presence, and yet more for her flow of talk. Now 
that she was in the Thatchers’ house, might hear at any 
moment the name of Philip Ambrose, and be called upon 
to bear her share in a disquisition on his doings and 
demerits, she was fain to put off the dreaded and yet 
longed-for moment. 

Alone with Lady Fanny this would hardly have been 
possible. She must have asked after Kitty, and Kitty 
spelt Scarborough and Ambrose — even the presence of 
the two husbands would have been no bar to plain 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


239 


speaking — but good breeding dictated general topics 
now, and it was not till second cups of tea were going 
round — “ For the country does make one so hugely 
hungry,” averred Mrs. Loring — that Olivia’s host, while 
attending to her wants, addressed her in passing. 

“ You’ve heard the news from Scarborough ? ” said 
he, pleasantly. 

“ I heard you had had a letter from Kitty, yes. She 
wrote to me from the other place, near Didcot — the 
place she was at before.” 

“ But you have not heard from her since ? Oh, she’s 
in high feather at Scarborough ; thinks she has per- 
formed a mighty feat in carrying off Ambrose — I told 
your husband Ambrose was there too, didn’t I ? Our 
conceited little puss thinks she put a stopper on his 
American trip — well no, she didn’t exactly say that, 
she didn’t mention America at all, but we know ” 

“ Mr. Seaford is speaking to you, John.” Lady 
Fanny touched her husband’s elbow. “ Oh, I beg your 
pardon,” added she, with an apologetic look ; and “ Beg 
pardon,” echoed Willie likewise — but though both with- 
drew as it were politely, their mutual object was accom- 
plished. The colonel looked round, and the thread of 
his discourse was broken. 

It was Olivia herself who resumed it presently. 

“ I suppose Mr. Ambrose found he could not afford 
the time to go with his friend,” observed she, evenly. 
“ It was a sudden thought ; one is often obliged to re- 
consider sudden thoughts.” 

“Quite so. Just what your husband said. And 
Ambrose — we are talking of Professor Ambrose, Edith,” 
to Mrs. Loring, who was too near not to be included in 
his remarks; “our neighbourhood has been honoured 
by having a celebrity within its boundaries for the past 
month.” 


240 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


“A celebrity?” Mrs. Loring, ever on the look-out 
for celebrities, pricked up her ears. 

‘‘ You don’t see him often in London,” continued 
the colonel, with unction, “you don’t catch a lion like 
him for your parties, I can tell you ; you have to come 
down to a quiet little country place like this to unearth 
a swell like Philip Ambrose.” 

“ Really? And is he here now? ” (“ And why was 

I not told before?” mentally ejaculated the lady. 
“ People are so stupid ” — and she racked her brains to 
think when and where she had ever heard the name of 
Ambrose.) “Henry?” she appealed to her husband, 
“ Henry, John tells me that Professor Ambrose ” 

“ I know, but he is gone, my dear. It is rough on 
you, but it is so,” rejoined Henry, sardonically. “ You 
would have liked to meet the famous Ambrose.” 

“ Of course I should.” 

“ Even though you have not the ghost of an idea 
what he is famous for. Not the veriest ghost ; come 
now, have you? No, no, Fanny, don’t help her out,” — 
but Lady Fanny, albeit with a secret smile, could not 
let this go on. 

“ We women cannot be expected to understand 
scientific distinctions,” observed she, adroitly. “ Edith 
knows that Mr. Ambrose is one of the men of the day.” 

“ Bet she didn’t — till now.” 

“And she would naturally be interested in meet- 
ing any one whose name is so much to the front at 
present.” 

“And would invite him to call in South Street.” 

“ Henry, Henry, you are too bad ; ” the smile was 
now an open one on Lady Fanny’s face. “You are 
incorrigible. He always was a tease, was he not, 
Edith? And men never understand hero-worship.” 

“What’s that? Hero-worship?” struck in her 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


241 


husband, who during the above little sparring match 
had lound himself drawn a bye, and forced to accord an 
unwilling appearance- of listening to Willie Seaford who 
was talking on in his far ear (Olivia was quietly drink- 
ing her tea, and examining the pattern on the cup). 
“ What nonsense is Fanny talking about hero-worship? 
My dear, I should hope you’re too old for that sort of 
tomfoolery.” 

“ Too old? Gracious, John is rude to you, Fanny ; ” 
Mrs. Loring reddened and tried to look as if three out 
of the five people present did not know that she was 
some years her cousin’s senior — “pray, John, since 
you are so matter-of-fact, at what age is hero- 
worship permissible?” 

“At no age.” Suddenly the colonel’s eyes shot 
fire. “At no age,” repeated he, sharply. “It’s a 
rotten system — never mind — never mind if that’s not 
the word ; one word’s as good as another if you know 
what I mean — I say, it’s a rotten notion, if you like 
that better, and leads to — humph, I know what it leads 
to, if you don’t;” — and “India” was writ large upon 
his brow. 

“You shocking man! Call him to order, Fanny. 
He has all sorts of horrid ideas in his head ; and really 
what started them — could it only have been your inno- 
cent suggestion of hero-worship, my dear?” 

“ John has so many hobby-horses that one can’t 
always avoid mounting him on one,” — but Lady 
Fanny’s mild accents were interrupted by the vivacious 
Londoner, now more in her element than she had yet 
found herself under her cousin’s roof. With an amused 
air she turned to Olivia. “At least you have not out- 
grown hero-worship, my dear?” The “My dear” 
might have been resented, but at the moment a sun-ray 
darted across the speaker’s face, cruelly showing up its 


242 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

time-worn ravages, and Olivia had an odd sense of being 
very, very young as she looked upon it. Give us your 
views, for I am sure you must have views,” proceeded 
the old lady, cheerfully unconscious of the trick the 
cruel beam was playing her. “ I mustn’t own to my 
feelings after Colonel Thatcher’s severity,” with a 
glance at him, “ but ” 

“ I am afraid mine would meet with like condem- 
nation.” (“They have already done so,” reflected 
Olivia — but she spoke with spirit, and Willie told her 
so afterwards. “ It was awkward, too, when, of course, 
they were all thinking of Ambrose,” added he 
sagaciously.) 

“Then we three must combine against the three 
husbands; ” again Lady Fanny’s well-bred accents per- 
formed their gracious intermediary part. “ We refuse 
to be daunted by John’s contempt and Henry’s sarcasm 
— and Mr. Seaford, I daresay, sides with them, though 
he is too polite to us to say so? If Kitty were here 
she would ” 

“ Beat you all at the game. That she would. Give 
you points, too,” nodded Kitty’s father. “The little 
goose is simply raving mad with delight over having got 
Ambrose all to herself at Scarborough.” 

“At Scarborough! Oh, the great man is at Scar- 
borough I ” cried Mrs. Loring, quickly. “ He avoids 
London, but goes into society at Scarborough I Oh, 
really I He — he must be rather a peculiar personage by 
all accounts.” 

“Very peculiar.” The colonel, with his eyes firmly 
fixed on the last speaker, was nevertheless mentally ad- 
dressing other auditors, as they were well aware. “We 
don’t know what our enigmatical friend is up to, but ap- 
parently Kitty does. She has got the hero-worship fever 
badly, ladies ; and her letter to her mother ” 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


243 


“ A poor little girl’s letters to her mother — John, I 
am ashamed of your showing them up for ridicule,” cried 
Lady Fanny, indignantly. “ No, I will not have it,” as 
he endeavoured to strike in again, his face brimming 
with mischief. I will not have my poor little Kitty 
laughed at. Her enthusiasms have always been — -you 
know?” The speaker turned to Olivia, not perhaps with- 
out a little human satisfaction in doing so, for, after all, 
one’s daughter is one’s daughter, and she had been a 
good deal tried by the said enthusiasms. “ So that we 
cannot wonder at a little furore over such a really dis- 
tinguished person as Mr. Ambrose^” she wound up, dis- 
missing the subject — and since the “ Distinguished 
person ” was out of reach and nothing was to be gained 
by further discussion of him, Mrs. Loring was ready 
also to turn to happier hunting-grounds. 

“So it appears we were right, and there really is 
something going on up yonder?” quoth Willie, the dog- 
cart having started on its return journey. “ But I can’t 

think a man like Ambrose ” and he flicked his whip 

dubiously. 

“ What is it that you can’t think? ” inquired Olivia. 

She was chilly even beneath the cloak which his 
careful hand had drawn around her in the hall, and she 
would fain have sat there cold and silent, thinking over 
all she had heard ; but as this could not be, it was better 
to learn what was in Willie’s mind than to have him 
also ruminating and evolving his own deductions. 

“Why, that a clever, an ultra-clever fellow, an out- 
and-outer who makes it his business, and trades on it, 
and is nothing if he isn’t it ” 

“ Pile it up, Willie ; ” Olivia found she could laugh, 
but it was a hard, unmirthful laugh. “We have got at 
your true opinion of Mr. Ambrose at last,” continued 
she, leaving off as suddenly as she had begun. 

16 ^ 


244 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

“ Oh, you don’t agree with it, I suppose ? ” He 
looked along the side of his horse and took off a fly with 
the loop of his lash, but Olivia was not deceived ; there 
was, yes, there was a change in his tone ; it might have 
been as if he had been arrested by hers. 

And certainly a fortnight ago she would have 
spurned his description, and even now felt vexed with it. 

Vexed? That was the word. It did not hurt, it 
did not wound, it did not dispose her to flare up in 
denial nor sit mute in sullenness — it merely expressed 
in bald simplicity a terrible suspicion that now and 
again had lurked within her own bosom and for which 
she had hated herself. 

Ambrose had not a noble character, neither had he 
an endearing disposition. 

He could be pleasant, wonderfully pleasant, when he 
chose; and he could make the person he wished to 
please esteem his doing so the more because it was a 
direct, exclusive, almost secret bond between them he 
thus sought to establish ; but in himself, and apart from 
those brilliant intellectual powers which dazzled and 
subdued the world, what was he ? 

Willie, with no desire to belittle a distinguished 
man — Willie, incapable of paltry detraction arising 
from a sense of ill-usage — Willie, who was simply talk- 
ing away with his usual ease and absolute truthfulness 
when alone with his wife, said Ambrose was “ Nothing ”. 
Olivia experienced a kind of constriction of the heart. 

That strange, subtle gift of fascination which a 
virile nature can exercise over another, not necessarily 
a weaker, had held her as it were in a vice while daily 
and hourly exerted ; but even then she had had moments 
of escape, only alas ! to be recaptured. And she had 
allowed herself to be recaptured — it was that which 
tormented her now. 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


245 


Yet Willie said — she paused, she longed to hear him 
say it again — the shock, even the pain of it was 
passing; the place he had struck throbbed with the 
dulled sense of a nerve which has been touched, but 
which is sinking almost peacefully to rest again. 

“Willie?” 

He leaned towards her in silence. 

“ You thought I minded what you said just now, 
Willie, but — I did not. About Mr. Ambrose, I mean. 
You spoke as if you did not care for him, although you 
admired him ? I think — I do the same. But I — have 
not always done so. I have not always seen him in the 
light I — begin to do. Go on, Willie ; what were you 
going on to say when you thought I stopped you ? ” 

“ Only this ” — he had the supreme tact to exhibit 
neither surprise nor satisfaction but to proceed evenly 
as though taking up the dropped thread where he left 
it — “ only that a fellow who puts a high price on himself 
for his cleverness and rather gives other fellows to under- 
stand they’re dirt if they can’t cope with him in that line, 
isn’t the sort of man to marry — eh ? ” She had allowed 
a soft ejaculation to escape, but no second utterance 
followed. 

“ I suppose it’s marriage Kitty is thinking of,” pro- 
ceeded he, looking straight in front of him. “ She 
wouldn’t see it in the same light, of course. And she 
may think that she would do very well. And the aunt 
would tell her that if she can nobble a celebrity like 
Ambrose ” 

“Oh, Willie, dear!” 

“ I didn’t mean ‘ Nobble,’ I meant, I meant — catch,” 
said he, flustered ; “ there’s no harm in ‘ Catch,’ Olivia ; 
and what I was going to say was, the aunt would tell 
Kitty that she would do far better with Ambrose than 
by hooking on to a younger man. Ambrose is safe to go 


246 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


up even higher than he is already ; he’ll go to the very 
top of the tree — and that means position, and income, 
and all the rest of it.” 

“ Yes, I suppose it does.” She drew the rug round 
her, and bent over the side for some moments. 

“ But I don’t fancy the old colonel and Lady Fanny 
would care for such a match,” continued Willie, driving 
carefully past a team of waggons on the road, “ and I 
don’t fancy they have even got as far as receiving the 
idea into their heads. He thought it a good story, and 
that it would make you sit up ” 

“Me!” 

“Aye, you, I saw what he was up to, and you got 
out of it famously — never turned a hair, — and Lady 
Fanny was angry with him and ashamed of him — but 
she was the only one of the two who took it seriously. 
She didn’t half like that letter of Kitty’s.” 

“ So I thought,” said Olivia, slowly. 

“ Did you see how neatly she turned it off by a hit 
at Kitty’s ‘ Enthusiasms ’ ? That was meant for you. 
And there was a lot of truth in it, you know.” He 
broke off, waiting for her to speak, but as she did not : 
“Well, dear,” he proceeded, kindly, “you didn’t mind, 
did you ? Old Thatcher has always been a little queer 
about you and Ambrose, ever since that first night when 
he felt himself bowled out. He admires you awfully in 
a rum sort of way — I am always amused by it. If you 
are decently civil, he is ready to fall on his knees, but 
” he paused and laughed. 

“ But in general he would like to humble me and 
annoy me? ” said she, bitterly. 

“ I suppose that’s it. Some people are made so.” 
He nodded a philosophical assent. “ It’s not worth 
bothering about.” 

Olivia struggled with herself, but her rejoinder, when 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


247 


it came at last, was clear and steady. No one can 
afford to despise the opinion even of a foolish old man, 
and I think, perhaps, I have been a little too indifferent 
— that is, I am sorry that Colonel Thatcher should 
couple my name and that of Mr. Ambrose even in his 
thoughts. But you said I did not show this, Willie ? ” 

A sudden, and to his ears pathetic, eagerness manifested 
itself. “ You did say so, didn’t you? ” 

“ I’d swear it.” He put out his left hand and clasped 
hers. “ You showed nothing — to them ; don’t be afraid, 
for I was watching.” 

“Watching, Willie?” 

“ For you, yes.” Again the hand pressed hers, and 
silence fell between them, which lasted till they reached 
their own door. 

Then, “Well, here we are,” said Willie, lightly. 

“ Now, dear, wait a moment till I can help you down ; 
don’t be in a hurry,” as she stood up impetuously, and 
he threw the reins to a groom who had run round to 
the horse’s head. 

“ It’s been awfully jolly going out like this,” 
whispered he, holding her hands a moment longer than 
he needed ; “ we’ll go again, shan’t we ? ” And though 
he had only a little nod for answer, he followed her 
inside contentedly. 

“ Very nice neighbours. I’m sure,” pronounced Mrs. 
Loring the same evening at dinner. She had not been 
able to say so before except to Lady Fanny, the two 
gentlemen having disappeared after the Seafords’ de- 
parture. “A nice, sociable couple; it made quite a 
pleasant little interlude their coming this afternoon, 
John.” 

“ It was lucky we were at home,” rejoined he, 
amicably. He was always afraid of the fine London 


248 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


lady’s despising the neighbourhood, and had already 
reckoned on the impromptu tea-party as so much to the 
good on his side of the question. 

‘‘ The husband, perhaps, not quite up to the wife? ” 
continued Mrs. Loring, interrogatively. “ Not quite, is 
he?” 

‘‘ Oh, Willie’s a good sort. Well, no, perhaps he’s 
not — but I don’t know ; he has a great-uncle a dean,” 
said the colonel, with an air of making a point — and, 
indeed, it was only the thought of the partridges on the 
morrow which wrung the dean out of him, for as a rule 
he had a supreme contempt for everything about Willie 
Seaford except himself. (“ No family, none whatever,” 
he was wont to say ; and when in peevish humour would 
add, “ It’s simply sickening the way these City men 
overrun this part of the world, and buy up every decent 
place within reach.”) 

Now, however, he looked resolutely into Mrs. 
Loring’s face and produced poor Willie’s one creditable 
relation, of whom Willie himself never spoke. 

“Ah, really? A dean. But a man is not born a 
dean, you know. You remind me, John, of my niece 
Evelyn, who married a Mr. Begg, and when people ask 
who the Beggs are, she says her husband has a relation 
a general ! ” 

“ Humph ! ” said he, not relishing the simile. “ I 
can’t give people birth if they haven’t it — no more can 
your niece. All I can say is there is a member of Willie 
Seaford’s family who has attained a good position, and 
as for himself he’s a confoundedly good sort, and I wish 
there were more like him.” 

“ But his wife, surely she ” 

“Not a bit of her. We knew her parents; Fanny 
and I knew them at one time when Olivia was a child, 
pretty well. We lost sight of them afterwards till she 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


249 

turned up here married to Seaford. They were a respect- 
able old couple, nothing more.” 

I noticed that Fanny called Mrs. Seaford by her 
Christian name.” 

Why, aye, you can hardly drop the name, though 
really until lately we have not seen much of the Seafords. 
Since Kitty grew up we have been more intimate ; Kitty 
has a craze for Olivia Seaford ; makes a perfect fool of 
herself about her.” 

“ Girls often do that, you know.” 

“ So Fanny says, and that it will pass otf — but I don’t 
know ; it’s a monstrous nuisance while it lasts anyhow.” 

“ I should certainly have thought Mrs. Seaford a 
well-born woman,” ruminated Mrs. Loring aloud. 

And I am not generally mistaken. She has quite the 
best manner, and, what one always notices, she can re- 
main out of a conversation without looking ‘ Out of it,’ — 
you know what I mean ? I remarked on this to Fanny, 
and she assured me that she had often said the same.” 

‘‘ I daresay.” The colonel sipped his wine. 
“ Fanny’s as silly as the rest of them, and that’s 
the simple truth. Olivia Seaford can twist them all 
— all but me — round her little finger. They put her 
on a pedestal, and I call her their divinity. That 
riles Kitty, but it does good — sometimes. As for 
her husband, and that Ambrose you heard us talking 
about ” 

“ Your celebrity ? — your famous man ? ” 

Our celebrity?” echoed the colonel, indignantly. 
“ Ambrose is the world’s celebrity ! And it’s downright 
ignorant of you, Edith — well, well,” as she strove to 
insert an apology — “but just you ask about Ambrose 
when you go back to London. Just you do that, and 
you’ll hear what’s said ; you’ll find he’s thought as 
much of there as anywhere.” 


250 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


And he admires Mrs. Seaford? ” 

“ Bless my soul, Henry, I never heard that before. 
Where did you pick up that, ha-ha-ha?” Suddenly 
Colonel Thatcher turned from his neighbour, and in the 
most natural manner imaginable — or so he thought — 
threw himself into a lively duologue which was going 
on between the other two. “ What a preposterous — 
what a fellow you are,” cried he, with vociferous 
applause. “ You should keep him in better order, 
Edith ” — and between laughter and disclaimers and 
general joviality Edith’s question got so completely 
shunted that it could never again get on to the rails, 
try as she might. 

To himself the colonel was saying : After all, it’s 
no business of Edith Loring’s, and she has a devil of a 
tongue. I daresay Fanny would be down on me for 
what I said as it is — and Madam Olivia was on her best 
behaviour to-day ; it would be playing it rather low 
down on her to tell tales the moment her back’s 
turned. She’s but a girl after all,” mused he, turning 
his wine-glass round and round thoughtfully. ‘‘Why, 
she’s two years younger now than Fanny was when I 
married her!” — and the recollection so softened him 
that when Olivia’s name next recurred in conversation 
he merely cocked his nose in the air, looked significantly 
at his wife, and as he assured her afterwards gave the 
subject the “Go-by”. 

The next day was fine and the colonel early astir. 
He would have scorned to allow that the prospect of 
going after “ A few measly partridges ” excited him, but 
he was heard tramping about his little dressing-room 
long before his usual hour, and appeared at breakfast in 
a strange old suit a world too tight for him which Lady 
Fanny had fondly deemed given away long before. 

“ My dear John 1 ’’ 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


251 


John hastily drew up his chair to the table, affecting 
not to hear. 

Was it necessary to put on such very — very — — ” 
She ran a disparaging eye up and down him as she 
spoke. “ I do not believe that you have worn that coat 

for years ! And really ” 

“ I haven’t gone shooting for years, if you force me 
to admit it,” said he, “and I don’t keep an overflowing 
wardrobe, my dear. I had to get out any old things, 
and nobody will see me but you and Henry. As for 
Henry, he’s no dandy.” 

“ It does not matter for Henry, certainly.” 

“ Who does it matter for, then ? Edith will never 
see me, as she breakfasts upstairs; and I can slip in 
while you’re out in the afternoon if you’re so particular 
— but I should have thought I did well enough,” and he 
stretched out his arms and stroked them. 

“ Won’t Mr. Seaford think you ” 

“ What, ? ” The colonel roared. “I’ll say 

that for Willie Seaford, he’s no more like a City man 
about clothes, than I am myself. I should say he never 
knows what he has on after it’s once on his back. He’s 
well turned-out, because he goes to a good tai}or and 
pays a rattling bill — but I never knew any fellow I 
should less mind seeing me a guy. I suppose I am a 
guy in them, eh?” — and he looked shamefacedly down 
at himself unable to keep up bravado any longer. He 
had known all along that his shrunken limbs and bent 
shoulders showed sadly in the skimpy old suit. 

“What’s that? What’s John saying?” demanded 
a new voice from the doorway. “ Good Lord, John ! ” 
and the speaker stopped dead, staring at his host. 

And now it was well to see what kind of a wife old 
John Thatcher had. “ We were laughing together over 
his odd appearance when you came in, Henry,” said 


252 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

Lady Fanny, with her easiest smile. John thinks any 
old things are good enough for going over a few stubble- 
fields in an unfrequented district, and he has routed out 
these. What time do you start, John?” — and she 
handed her husband his coffee, and inquired into Henry 
Loring’s tastes respecting his, and was so taken up 
with the breakfast and the post, and this thing and 
that, that the colonel’s poor old face gradually lost its 
redness, and he was talking away quite big again about 
the partridges ere the meal was over. 

Willie Seaford on his part had also his preparations 
to make for the day’s sport, but these did not relate to 
any material considerations, not even to the luncheon — 
as to which he knew the redoubted Jack Malcolm’s 
instructions would be rigidly carried out ; almost too 
rigidly perhaps, but not for worlds would he have hinted 
this — it was other and entirely different matters which 
occupied Willie’s mind and drew a line across his brow. 

Thatcher will tackle me when we’re alone. He is 
still on the scent. He has made up his mind that there 
is something, or has been something, in that Ambrose 
affair, and won’t rest till he has wormed out what. I 
saw him looking at her. He thinks she has fretted 
herself thin — stop, I have it ” — and his countenance 
cleared up. After another brief reverie : “I think that 
will settle your business, old boy,” exclaimed he, briskly 
— and when the time came for setting off, and Olivia 
was at the door to see the start, he leaned down over 
the side of the dog-cart towards her: “I’m going to 
have some fun out of old Thatcher to-day,” he whispered, 
laughing. 

It was during the midday halt that the fun came. 
Luncheon was over, and the sportsmen were smoking 
luxuriously on a sunny bank with their caps over their 
eyes — Willie would have preferred the shade on his own 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 253 

account, but had an intuition that the warmth of a 
blazing September sun was grateful to the rheumatic 
old back at his side — and he now addressed his com- 
panion with a contemplative air: “This isn’t half bad 
when you can get nothing better, colonel.” 

“ It’s excellent, Seaford. Suits me down to the 
ground, this quiet pottering along and picking up a 
bird or two as you go.” (“ He mustn’t think I rate it too 
high. A man who has gone after big game in India — 
but after all, this is very enjoyable, and why should I 
not own it ? ”) “ On a day like this too,” murmured the 
colonel, indefinitely. 

“ I have half a mind to go in for more of this kind 
of thing, and give up my moor, that is, my part of a moor, 
in Scotland,” proceeded Willie, knocking the ashes out 
of his pipe and looking at it. “ If I could get any 
really good partridge shooting hereabouts ” — he paused. 

“I doubt your doing that, though; every bit is 
snapped up — still, of course, you got this.” 

“This? Oh, this hardly counts,” said Willie, 
laughing, and well aware that the other shared his 
opinion; “what I meant was something good enough 
to take the place of my Scotch trip. The fact is unless 
Olivia will go to Stronafalloch with me another 
time ” 

“Ah!” escaped the colonel. He could scarcely 
believe his ears. There was a meditative, confidential 
air about the speaker which seemed, which really 
seemed, as if it might be induced by — what on earth 
was he going to say? There was almost an angry 
sensation in the old soldier’s breast — (“ Hang it all, sir, 
a man should not complain of his wife without very 
good reason for doing so.”) 

“ It’s beastly selfish of me to go without her; and 
what’s more, I don’t enjoy it half so much as I should 


254 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

if she were with me,” ran on Willie, placidly. “ She’s 
been awfully good about it always, and never would 

hear of my giving it up, but now she says ” 

“Says?” 

“That I mustn’t leave her again;” he laughed a 
shy, pleased laugh. “ She is willing even to rough it — 
but she can’t rough it, you know ; she hasn’t got the 
stamina. Stronafalloch is a lonely bit of country — a 
splendid moor, but nothing else. I don’t know that I 
should be justified — of course I could give it up, only 
the fact is, well, anything would be better than — you 
see how it is? Now, tell me honestly, you don’t think 
her looking well, do you ? ” 

“ I — I — ’pon my word,” stammered the colonel, 
utterly surprised at the turn things had taken, “ now 
you speak of it, we did say to each other, my wife and 

I, that Mrs. Seaford was not — not looking ” 

“ You noticed it? Tm glad I asked you ; I wanted 
another opinion ; thought it might be my own fancy, you 
know. The only women I’ve been seeing lately have 

been such buxom creatures that the contrast ” he 

shook his head ruefully. “ Olivia comes of a delicate 
stock, all nerves and sensations ; and it takes so little 
to pull her down, that directly she gets moping ” — the 
colonel looked at him keenly — “ she loses flesh and 
colour and everything. I saw it the first night I arrived, 
and she owned herself that she never did as well as 
when I was here to look after her.” 

“ We have sometimes wondered that Mrs. Seaford 
should care to stay on here by herself while you were 
away. This neighbourhood is good enough at most 

times of the year, but in August ” 

“ She’s no wiser than the rest of us, colonel. When 
she likes a thing she says it suits her — and so do you 
and I. She likes her house, and her garden, and the 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


255 


quiet here when everybody else is away — oh, I say, 
you know I didn’t mean to be rude, sir.” 

Quite so. We are all aware of Mrs. Seaford’s 
proclivities,” rejoined Colonel Thatcher, grimly, “but 
since she can enjoy the advantages you speak of all the 
year rounds — for it don’t much signify whether people are 
here or not, if one chooses not to mix with them ” 

“We are always honoured by your and Lady 
Fanny’s friendship, colonel. If I have given the im- 
pression that we are not, it is my clumsiness,” said 
Willie Seaford, with a quiet dignity that became him 
marvellously, “ and I think you have known us long 
enough and well enough not to put any misconstruc- 
tion ” 

“ My good fellow, I ask your pardon a thousand 
times. No one could know you and think anything of 
you but what was — come now, no more compliments ; 
we understand each other,” — and Colonel Thatcher 
both looked and spoke cordially — “we understand each 
other, and our wives seem to understand each other, 
which is still more to the point,” chuckled he. “ Lady 
Fanny, and of course Kitty, but she’s hardly in the 
running yet — Lady Fanny then has a very warm corner 
in her heart for your wife ; may I be allowed to say 
she has a motherly feeling for her ? — and it is that which 
makes her perhaps — perhaps a little — a little surprised 
— and — and sorry.” Frightened at himself and at the 
impasse into which he had betrayed himself, the old 
man’s pipe dropped from his mouth, and muttering 
something, he hurriedly occupied himself with re- 
placing it. 

“ I can guess how Lady Fanny feels,” said Willie, 
calmly. “ My wife is very young — and thinks herself 
very old. She was never allowed to be a child— so in 
many ways she is still a child. I know her as no one 


256 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

else does. First her parents, and then I, have done 
our best to spoil her. But we haven’t spoiled her, 
though,” his eyes smiled, “you and others think we 
have. Wait. The end isn’t yet, colonel.” 

“ I’m sure — I’m sure,” stammered the colonel, much 
impressed — (“ Who would have thought he had it in 
him?” mentally) — “we all admire Olivia” — in his 
flurry he called her “Olivia” — “and as I said, my 
womenkind think all the world of her ; it is only that 
perhaps — a little — thoughtlessness ” — his voice died 
away to a mumble. 

“ If I had understood her better at the irst,” con- 
tinued Willie, dreamily, “ I could have helped her 
more; but she seemed to me perfect, and — and that 
doesn’t do, you know. A man shouldn’t think his wife 
perfect, because then he leaves her alone to struggle 
with her — temptations.” 

“ Temptations ? ” whispered the colonel to himself — 
but he had the wit to keep still and listen. 

“ I have encouraged her in every whim and fancy. 
I have let her off every disagreeable, and stood between 
her and every trouble,” resumed Willie, still as if pur- 
suing his own thoughts ; “ she herself has told me so, 
and told me I was harming her by it. When at the 
beginning she wanted to lead her own life, I ought not 
to have let her — I was older, and knew. I knew it was 
wrong, — that good women — and men too — oughtn’t to 
live just for themselves — but I couldn’t cross Olivia. 
My poor darling ! ” He appeared to have utterly for- 
gotten Colonel Thatcher’s presence. 

The latter, however, felt uneasy and de trop. (“ Al- 
most as if I had no business to be here, by Jove ! ” he 
muttered. “ I can’t think it’s Willie Seaford going on 
like that ; and if Fanny could only hear him ! ”) 

“You’re surprised, I daresay, sir?” quoth Willie, 


COLONEL THATCHER’S VIEWS 


257 


rousing himself. “ Fve been speaking aloud, haven't I ? 
But though I didn’t mean to say all this, I’m not sorry 
that I have said it. I have often felt that I wished you 
could know — you and Lady Fanny — more of what is 
going on here. We’re quite alone, we two — neither of 
us has a relation, that’s to say a near relation in the 
world.” (“ What about the dean ? ” thought the colonel, 
but he did not dare put in a word.) “Not one we could 
go to for advice or sympathy or anything of that kind, 
at least,” continued Willie, with a possible reference to 
the ecclesiastical dignitary in his own mind ; “ and if 
we had,” he smiled faintly, “I doubt if Olivia — no, we 
must worry it out together. That’s what I meant when 
I said I shouldn’t leave her alone again, sir. She leans 
on me. God knows I am not much of a support, but if 
love can do it ” — he dashed his hand across his eyes. 

(“ Good fellow — good fellow,” muttered the colonel, 
wiping his own.) Mutually they looked away from each 
other. ... A long pause ensued. 

“ And now shall we start again ? ” It was Willie 
Seaford’s strong, cheerful voice which broke the silence. 
“ We’ve rested long enough, haven’t we? Hi — you, — ” 
and he called up the keepers, and patted the dogs, who 
yawned themselves awake and yelped in response. 
“ We’ll take it easy, and leave off about four, if that suits 
you, colonel ? That’ll bring us each home for tea, eh ? 
I’ll drop you on the way? ” 

“ You won’t look in ? ” 

But Willie gave him a laughing look. Not he. 
Olivia would be waiting. 


17 


CHAPTER XII. 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY FROM THE THATCHERS. 

And Olivia was waiting, and experienced quite a little 
thrill of curiosity and anticipation as the dog-cart drew 
up. 

She could not of course get at Willie’s news, what- 
ever it was, at once — for by tacit consent the name of 
Ambrose was eliminated from their public conversation ; 
the aunts were not interested in him and Algy never 
mentioned him, — but she knew it would not be long ere 
the two could slip away by themselves, and she could 
bide her time till then. 

Olivia had regained a measure of serenity within 
the past two days, for albeit the shock and displeasure 
occasioned by Ambrose’s abrupt departure, together 
with the shame and dismay at her own conduct, was 
as poignant as before, something had happened — bear 
with her, reader — to make these feelings more tolerable. 
In fine, her vanity had been appeased, and a woman’s 
vanity is hard to kill. 

But how had this last been accomplished ? By the 
very means which the angry Ambrose took to inflict as 
he deemed further mortification. 

If he had carried out his threat of going to America, 
the Seafords would have continued to feel themselves 
as slightingly treated as he meant they should — but he 
overdid his part, and the mystery of his volte face sug- 
258 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 


259 


gested a new idea to Olivia. She fancied him suddenly 
awakened to the true extent of his feelings for herself, 
and fleeing from it. 

Recollect that she knew nothing of Algy’s insulting 
message, and had, therefore, no clue to the behaviour it 
gave rise to, until Kitty Thatcher’s letters came ; and 
that letter, whose exuberance annoyed Lady Fanny and 
excited her gossip-loving husband, shed a light over the 
whole affair to Olivia’s mind, which, as we say, soothed 
her vanity and gave a fillip to her spirits. 

At least all the folly was not on her side. At least 
he too had suffered and was suffering. 

Poor man ! It had come to this that she thought 
of Ambrose as “ Poor man! ” — and though she blamed 
him and in a sense despised him — telling herself that he 
and she had alike betrayed her husband’s confidence and 
lowered his dignity, telling herself further that Willie’s 
estimate of the false friend who had done this was a true 
one, and that she shared it — there was not that bitterness 
in looking upon the past that there had been. 

She had no wish ever to see Philip Ambrose again ; 
she earnestly hoped he had none to see her, — but there 
was a softness in her voice and an elasticity in her 
tread now, which had been lacking hitherto, and she 
took the old ladies, Willie’s aunts — (they were his great- 
aunts, by the way, sisters of the dean, and a stiff and 
selfish old pair, who did not even recur to him as rela- 
tions when lamenting the lack of such to Colonel 
Thatcher) — Olivia, we say, in the new-born ameliora- 
tion of her feelings, escorted those ladies to the very spot 
where she and Ambrose were wont to sit, and desired 
Jenkyns to send them chairs. 

This had taken place on the morning of the shoot- 
ing day, and all through that day, Olivia had been more 
or less attentive and en Evidence — not slipping out of 
17 * 


26 o the enlightenment of OLIVIA 


sight and appearing only at meals as she had been 
guilty of doing more than became a hostess during the 
earlier portion of the visit. 

“ Positively she has not vanished once to-day ! ” 
nodded Aunt Jemima to Aunt Louisa, their old heads 
close together under the elm-tree, and their old eyes 
following Olivia who was tying up hollyhocks almost 
within earshot — and in consequence, “ Oh, don’t think 
of us,” cried both together, when tea was over and 
Willie stood up, looking as if he wanted his wife to 
stand up too — “ go with him, my dear.” 

So now for her reward. The smoking-room to 
which the two repaired forthwith, was one of the most 
luxurious rooms in Willie Seaford’s luxurious house. 
It was large and wood-panelled to the beams. There 
were as few hangings as possible, and the cushions of 
the chairs, which were broad and low and supremely 
comfortable, were changed and aired so frequently as 
to keep the atmosphere fresh — which freshness was 
further secured by windows which opened at every 
point, and a huge fireplace in which a fire constantly 
burned. 

The latter now threw a glancing light on all within 
its radiance, and a couple of shaded lamps added their 
rosy glow — so that a more inviting domain for a man to 
enter on an autumn evening at the close of a shooting 
day, could not have been imagined. 

“ Tired, Willie ? ” Olivia drew her own chair to the 
other side of the hearth, settled her dainty feet on one 
of the iron dogs, which was just the height for a foot- 
stool, and shaded her face with a letter in her hand. 

“Tired? Not a bit. I don’t know, though,” ap- 
pended he, ensconcing himself opposite ; “ somehow I 
do feel glad to sit down. It’s walking under your pace 
that does it ; and the air here doesn’t spurt you along 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 261 

as it does on the moors. Heigho ! ” and he sank in, 
and laid back his head, puffing happily. 

“ I suppose the old colonel enjoyed himself?” tried 
she next. 

“ If he didn’t, it wasn’t my fault. I let him have 
the first wire in whenever I could, and liquored him up 
at luncheon — oh, the old boy was as festive as possible, 
and awfully grateful and all that when we parted. He 
really was a pleasant companion too, poor old chap.” 

“ And — and didn’t introduce any disagreeable sub- 
jects ? ” She stooped forward and replaced a log upon 
the fire. 

‘‘ Disagreeable subjects ? Oh, you mean — ’pon my 
word I forgot all about that — you mean Ambrose?” 

“ You thought he might take the opportunity ?” 

“ So I did, and was all prepared, but somehow it 
never came up. We had a long talk after luncheon, 
too, and he was nice and friendly — seemed to me he 
was particularly friendly ” — he ruminated, smoking 
slowly, then took his pipe out of his mouth and looked 
at it, “I fancy he knows that Ambrose can’t be a 
particularly agreeable subject to us, so kept off it, which 
was just as well, eh ? ” 

“ Oh, yes.” But Olivia felt bitterly disappointed. 
She had made so sure of his having something to tell, 
even something that was absurd and exasperating, even 
something that she would be called on to resent — but 
no news at all? “I thought you said you were going 
— but I daresay it was better not — only why did you 
say ?” 

“ That I would have some fun out of him ? Because 
I fully meant — that’s to say, I made so sure he would 
begin, that I had it all pat, — but as he didn’t, I — fact is, 
I never thought of it.” 

“ Do you think he — he could not quite have for- 


262 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


gotten, you know, when only yesterday he was so full 
of Kitty’s letter ? I must say I was rather hoping there 
would have been another letter, something to amuse 
us,” — Olivia forced a little laugh, — “ Kitty has fits of 
writing ; and when she once starts, bombards you with 
a regular cannonade. I quite expected the colonel 
would have met you with a fresh burst of intelligence.” 

“ Never said a word; ” he shook his head and ap- 
peared to reflect. “No, he never said a word ; but if 
you were to go over and see Lady Fanny, she’s the one 
— a single word from her is worth all his twaddle. And, 
by the way, he reminded me of some book, or paper, 
you promised her. Why not take it yourself? She’ll 
be alone to-morrow ; the Lorings leave early ; and she 
would be very likely to show you Kitty’s letter, or might 
even have a new one. There’s your excuse, if you want 
to see it,” 

“ It was this month’s number of the Gardening 
Annual,'' said Olivia, referring to her promise; “it has 
an article about chrysanthemums, which Lady Fanny 
thought might be useful to their man. Yes, I could 
take it.” 

“ And go by yourself, and have a good talk,” said he, 
eagerly, “ she’s a nice woman, and has always been nice 
to you. Couldn’t you,” he hesitated, “couldn’t you 
make a little more of a friend of her? From something 
the colonel said ” — Olivia threw him a quick look — 
“ Hang it all, I don’t see why I shouldn’t tell you what 
he said,” resumed he, with animation, “and though it 
isn’t exactly news, it’s nice to hear, so you shan’t say 
I’ve brought home nothing; it was this, that Lady 
Fanny had always ‘ A warm corner in her heart ’ for 
you. There! Oh, and there was something about 
‘Motherly feelings,’ if he might venture to put it so; 
what do you think of that?” 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 263 

“ I think, Willie,” Olivia looked at him with a pene- 
trating eye, “ I think that Colonel Thatcher would not 
have spoken so unless ” 

“Well, I only — I only — ” said he, alarmed. 

“ Only said something you couldn’t help saying, some- 
thing to show what a foolish husband you were,” — she 
had risen, crossed over to him, and stood now by his 
side, her hand resting gently on his head — “ don’t think 
hardly of me, dear, if I ask you not to do it again. Not 
just now, at least ; wait till I am more worthy of you, 
Willie; I am going to try to be that. And meantime, 
you won’t ? ” 

“ I promise I won’t. I’m awfully sorry, but I did — 
did talk a little about you to-day. I don’t know how it 
was, it just came out. I think it may have been because 
the colonel looked so old,” he reflected, half to himself, 
“such a little, shrivelled-up, old bit of a man with a 
kind face — not at all the usual fussy, inquisitive face I 
hate to meet ; Olivia, I do think we might be on better 
terms than we are with both him and his wife.” 

“ I will go over and call on Lady Fanny to-morrow,” 
said she, — but directly she had said it, she felt herself 
a traitor. 

And yet she was not a traitor. Her husband’s 
unshaken fidelity and nobility touched her very soul ; 
he loved her so that he could not help speaking of her — 
babbling of her if she must so call it, — yet when taxed 
with the overflow, and knowing that it vexed and pained 
her, out it came, the truth. Willie could not lie — not 
even for her. Intuitively she felt that another would ; 
that Ambrose would have found words wherewith to 
evade her perspicuity, or would have laughed off the 
incident. Ambrose fell before her husband. 

Yet again she would fain hear about Ambrose ; and 
to go to Lady Fanny now, now that she could do so 


264 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

with a certain ease of mind, and gather any information 
the latter could give which would be secretly agreeable 
and flattering to receive, seemed harmless enough. It 
would please Willie, and please the Thatchers, and 
please herself — so why not go? 

Accordingly Lady Fanny, who was alone the next 
afternoon, as predicted, beheld to her surprise the Sea- 
fords’ big barouche drive up with only Olivia in it, and 
Olivia did not merely drop a note or a parcel as might 
have been expected, but was presently seen descending 
the carriage-steps by the other who was peeping from 
the background. 

“ Dear Olivia, this is very nice.” Her ladyship 
advanced with both hands held out, and the above 
greeting on her lips. “ And I am all alone,” continued 
Lady Fanny in tones of self-congratulation, “so you 
are doubly welcome, my dear ; I so seldom have you to 
myself.” 

“ I brought this; ” Olivia produced the Gardening 
Annual j and opened it at the article on chrysanthemums. 
“ I thought you might like to have it at once, as your 
men are probably busy ” 

“ My one little man,” laughed Lady Fanny, “who 
thinks he can grow chrysanthemums, and about whose 
success I am by no means sure, is certainly busy, but 
will leave off whatever he is doing if he hears that 
you, the famous gardener of the neighbourhood, have 
deigned to take an interest in his new venture. It is 
really very kind, Olivia.” She spoke, she could not help 
it, as if Olivia were a princess, a gracious being con- 
descending from a superior sphere. 

“ And now that you are here,” continued the elder 
lady, ringing the bell, “you won’t hurry off, will you? 
You are not obliged to go home for tea ? It shall come 
up at once.” 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 265 

“Thank you. Oh, no, I am not at all ‘ Obliged’ ; 
indeed I hoped you would ask me,” rejoined Olivia, 
cheerfully. “ I took the aunts and Algy for a drive, 
and dropped them at home before I came on here.” 

“ And they won’t wait for you ? That’s right. You 
must tell me about the aunts ; perhaps I ought to have 
called on them ? ” 

But Olivia had not come to talk about the aunts. 

“ They come to us every year, you know, Lady Fanny. 
If you are so kind as to call, no doubt they would be 
pleased, but they don’t expect it ; they know we are 
quiet people, and that our neighbours are all busy with 
their own visitors at this season.” 

“ And the lame boy ? By the way, Kitty writes that 
his people are at Scarborough. She met them at your 
house, you know ; and I fancy they have been making 
rather friends with her. At seaside places every one 
meets every one some time or other.” 

“ Algy told us they were there.” It was not quite 
so easy now to speak unconcernedly, but Olivia was 
prepared. If only Lady Fanny would keep on, keep 
at it, now that she was on the right tack, and not be 
headed off by tea and bustle of table-setting? But 
alas! already her ladyship’s eyes were wandering, for 
she had not the well-trained servants of The Willow 
House, and could not depend on an impromptu tea 
being up to the mark. 

“ Algy is to join them next week,” continued Olivia, 
doggedly sticking to the point herself. “ I daresay 
Kitty will find the girls — that’s to say she may be glad 
of them to go about with, Mrs. Hothfield having no 
daughters.” 

“ Yes, I think so ; I fancy so,” — but Lady Fanny cast 
an anxious eye on the bread-and-butter, which was not 
cut as Olivia’s would have been. The silver, too, looked 


266 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


a little dim, since the strain of the Lorings’ visit had pre- 
vented its being polished after the day of their arrival. 
(“ I do hope Olivia won’t notice it,” reflected she ; “ the 
Seafords’ silver is always so beautifully kept.”) 

“ Does Kitty say anything about the Rushingtons ? ” 
Olivia started afresh, and mentally blessed the Rush- 
ingtons who offered a safe and neutral territory on which 
she could either take her stand or advance from as de- 
sired. “ Have they done anything together ? ” 

“ No. Yes — that is, I think so ; ” but this time it 
was not material considerations which caused Lady 
Fanny to stammer and qualify her assertions, it was 
a sudden recollection of a passage in Kitty’s letter, 
which passage was hardly — she had not herself liked it, 
and any one else would probably like it still less. The 
passage opened thus: “The Rushington girls are as 
jealous as they can be ; ” — (a racing pen evidently going 
at full gallop) — “ they have done all they can to annex 
Mr. Ambrose, but he simply won’t be annexed. It is 
splendid to see how he gets out of it. The other day, 
etc., etc.” 

“ I am amused to find that Kitty plumes herself on 
having produced our friend Philip Ambrose at Scar- 
borough ; ” all at once Kitty’s mother, who had been 
halting between two opinions ever since the all-important 
missive came, made up her mind that she would at least 
tell Olivia parts of it, and see how they affected her ? 
Olivia would know better than she if Kitty were in need 
of an admonition or even of a recall. “ For really I am 
annoyed at all that nonsense about the Rushingtons,” 
decided she; “of all things that kind of jealous rivalry 
is the worst for a girl. Kitty did not care a pin’s point 
for Mr. Ambrose when he was here, and there was no 
one to make a fuss about him — for, of course, Olivia 
Seaford is on a plane by herself, and her doing it was 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 267 

quite another thing — but now, because these other 
foolish girls egg her on,” — what mother does not 
think it is another mother’s children who egg hers on ? 
Lady Fanny decided to take Olivia’s opinion on the 
point. 

“You know what a little feather-brained puss it is,” 
said she, trying for a light tone, “ and this is her first 
flight by herself into the world. We thought she would 
be safe with Mrs. Hothfield, who brought up her own 
two daughters admirably and married them well — but 
by Kitty’s account she lets her run about very much as 
she pleases. Of course young people do often give false 
impressions in their letters, and I don’t give credence 

to all Kitty says, but still ” She paused. 

“ You think that Kitty is having rather a lively 
time?” Olivia laughed with a girlish intonation that 
struck her auditor as curiously sympathetic. Somehow, 
she had been talking as to a contemporary of her own, 
as to an older person who would look askance upon “A 
lively time,” and her next accents showed this. 

“ I should wish my children to enjoy any pleasures 
that are natural to their age, any that are wholesome 
and innocent,” rejoined she, a shade stiffly, “ but what 
I should not wish is that they should associate with 
their pleasures feelings of a — of a nature — to be frank, 
Olivia, the tone of Kitty’s letter does not altogether 
please me, and I have been wondering if it can be due 
to her mingling with companions who are not such as 
her father and I would approve of.” 

“ You mean the Rushingtons ? ” 

“ I do. You know them, and can say whether I am 
right in this conjecture or not ? ” 

“That they are contaminating Kitty?” Again, 
there was a faint undertone of amusement, which Lady 
Fanny, who was deeply in earnest, did not quite like. 


268 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


She made a restive movement, and half-regretted she 
had begun the conversation at all. 

“ If I knew exactly what it is that vexes you, I could 
better judge whether it is anything serious or not?” 
said Olivia — and now this changeable creature spoke 
and looked so sensibly, that the half-withdrawn con- 
fidence flowed back on the instant — “ I really don’t think 
there is any harm in Amy and Florence Rushington — 
but, again, I don’t know, I don’t know them well enough ; 
and it is extraordinary how sometimes the very girls 
whom one would least expect to be fast and objection- 
able ” 

“ That is it, that is just what I feel. And Kitty has 
mixed so little with people of that stamp, and is so apt 
to take the colour of those about her ” 

“ But, dear Lady Fanny, couldn’t you speak a little 
plainer? If we only deal in generalities ” 

“ I think the best thing I can do is to show you her 
letter ” — and Lady Fanny, who half an hour before had 
determined that no living eye should ever rest upon her 
young daughter’s exuberant effusion, suddenly whipped 
it out of her pocket, where it had been carried about 
with her all day. 

Having done so much, however, she paused and 
hesitated. 

“ Don’t show it me if you would rather not, Lady 
Fanny.” But Olivia’s eyes fastened greedily upon the 
envelope. 

“ Indeed, I would rather, much rather show it, it 

would be a relief to me, only ” Again she broke off 

with miserable indecision. 

(“ Now, I know I ought not to see that letter,” said 
Olivia, to herself. “ It would be taking a mean ad- 
vantage— it wodld be dishonourable, unfair — and yet 
I long to see it. It would tell me so much, and it would 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 269 

tell me what I would learn in no other way. And as 
she offers it herself, it can’t be my fault ; even Willie 
could not say it was my fault.”) Yet the next moment 
she motioned back her companion’s outstretched hand 
with her own, and turned away her head. It was the 
thought of her husband which impelled her to do this. 

“ Well, yes, perhaps you are right,” — but Lady 
Fanny obviously felt herself rebuked and a little thrown 
back — “still, if I — and I am not usually indiscreet,” — 
and she drew herself up, for after all it was hardly Olivia 
Seaford’s place — but better feelings prevailed. 

“You are right, and I was wrong,” owned she, frankly, 
“and forgive me for tempting you, dear Olivia. My 
excuse is that I am worried and anxious, but I ought 
not to have — however, I will confine myself now to 
telling you what I rnay tell without any breach of con- 
fidence. Kitty is running all over the place it seems, 
with the Rushingtons and Mr. Ambrose. There would 
be nothing in that, if it were not for the flighty, foolish 
tone she adopts about it. She seems to think they are 
making a sort of lion of Mr. Ambrose ; and what I can’t 
understand is why she should exult over checkmating 
them in their very natural wish for his society. Mr. 
Ambrose is not a young man, or this would be more 
explicable. How I thought you might help me, Olivia, 
is in your knowledge of his character — for though we 
originally made you and him acquainted, you have seen 
so much more of him than ever we have that you — is 
he a flirt ? ” 

Suddenly Lady Fanny looked straight into Olivia’s 
face, and all her carefully-uttered, well-chosen prelimin- 
aries gathered themselves up into the single curt de- 
mand. 

It may be wondered how she dared to put it. The 
truth is that she had so dwelt upon the more recent 


270 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

aspect of affairs, and so fretted herself over these from 
her own point of view, that she could now only think of 
Ambrose as the apple of discord between Kitty, the 
Rushingtons, and “The rest ” (Kitty’s phrase for other 
rivals in the background), and all other recollections 
and considerations were for the time obliterated. Lines 
Olivia had never seen before wrinkled her cheeks, and 
the sight of them softened Willie Seaford’s wife, even as 
he had been softened by similar signs of age on the old 
colonel’s face the day before. She did not permit either 
her incredulity or contempt to appear. 

“Is Mr. Ambrose a flirt? That means” — began 
she soberly, as though reflecting, — but here the elder 
lady struck in again, unable to be patient. 

“Not in the ordinary sense of the word, of course ; 
I know enough of Philip Ambrose to dispose of that 
idea. But would he be likely to lead silly girls on to 
vie with each other for his notice — would he be amused 
by their competing for him ? The idea is most un- 
pleasant, but it really seems as if something of that 
nature were going on.” 

“ It might be going on without his being the least 
aware of it. They would not show it openty, you know. 
Lady Fanny.” 

“You think so. You think they would have suffi- 
cient self-restraint ? I should be so thankful if that were 
the case. Indeed, Olivia, I cannot tell you how it has 
annoyed and worried me, the thought of poor Kitty’s 
childishness, — I am sure it would be only childishness, 
but then you see she is not a child, and no one will give 
her credit for — but you know Kitty, and you know Mr. 
Ambrose, and you do think he may not — not have seen 
anything? ” 

“ I think it is far more likely that he has not seen 
anything than that he has,” said Olivia, readily. “ If 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 


271 


I may speak quite frankly, Lady Fanny, I should say 
that Mr. Ambrose would not trouble his head about the 
adoration ” 

“That’s it; that is the very word for it!” cried 
Lady Fanny, delighted. 

“Of a parcel of school-girls,” continued Olivia, 
smiling. “ They would behave quite nicely, you know ; 
they would not thrust it upon him ” 

“ No, no ; they would not thrust it upon him.” 

“ And with his thoughts far away ” — (“ Here” said 
the speaker to herself, but aloud it was), “ with his mind 
at work on other subjects, their small endeavours 
would be felt no more, not so much as pin-pricks.” 

“ Still, I wish they would not make the endeavours,” 
murmured Lady Fanny, uneasily. 

After a long pause she looked at Olivia with a new 
look. “ There must be some attraction in Philip Am- 
brose which I am not able to discover. I confess I find 
him rather heavy on hand, difficult to interest in any- 
thing, — but then, I am an old woman, and not a clever 
woman, and he is at no pains to find topics I can talk 
about. With you, Olivia, it is different, and you, I can 
understand, might find — I believe you do find him agree- 
able?” 

“ Very agreeable — when he chooses. Lady Fanny.” 

“ And you saw a great deal of him when he was at 
the cottage lately ? ” 

“ He came up every day. He did a good deal of his 
work in our garden. Not exactly in writing, but in 
reading and preparation.” 

“ And talked it over with you ? ” 

“Yes.” 

“ There is a glamour over genius, Olivia, that I know 
you — you would be keenly alive to. I can quite under- 
stand this ; indeed I can understand it fully, and should 


272 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

be the last person to — to misinterpret the — the sentiment. 
You believe this, do 570U not, my dear ? ” 

“ Oh, certainly. Lady Fanny.” Olivia looked mildly 
surprised and expectant. 

“ So that I know you will not take it amiss if I — 
but after all, why should I speak now ? He is gone, 
and it was not till after he had gone that I — that we 
heard anything. Oh ! it was nothing, a mere nothing ; 
but you know how every trifle gets abroad in a neigh- 
bourhood like this ” — running on rapidly, in terror of a 
gathering shadow on Olivia’s face — “ I detest mysteries, 
my dear ; all that was ever thought or hinted at was 
that Mr. Ambrose was a little more with you than 
was perhaps quite convenahle, quite in accordance with 
old-fashioned ideas, while your husband was away. I 
should not have mentioned it, for really such gossip is 
not worth repeating, but for this last development of 
Mr. Ambrose’s character.” 

“ But I thought we settled it that it was not Mr. 
Ambrose.” 

“ So we did. And he is, I doubt not, as free from a 
suspicion of blame in the one case as in the other. And 
so are you, Olivia ; pray, pray do not think I meant to 
hint — but when one is young and absolutely unconcerned 
about appearances — all that I meant was, my dear, that 
perhaps appearances are worth considering sometimes — 
but, really, I have said more than I intended doing, and 

I can only ask you to ” She put out her hand, and 

Olivia’s met it half-way. 

Strange to say, she did not feel angry, nor even per- 
turbed. It was such a little thing of which Lady Fanny 
accused her, so much less a thing than that of which 
she accused herself. She had been somewhat “ Heed- 
less of appearances,” and the neighbourhood had Old- 
fashioned ideas”. She almost smiled; indeed, she did 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 


273 


smile, — though it was but a faint, rather pathetic little 
attempt which lay upon her lips, as her eyes sought the 
other’s face. “ I was wrong,” she said, quietly, and it 
is right and kind and wise of you to tell me so. I ought 
to have thought of what you say for myself, but I did 
not. If that is an excuse. Lady Fanny, please accept 
it ” — but her heart smote her as she spoke. 

It was so easy to pacify her kind old friend, so easy 
to content her simple-minded husband, so easy to toss 
her head at a chattering neighbourhood and impertinent 
servants — so hard to lie to herself. 

Nevertheless, there was nothing apparent but a 
softly-flushed face. Lady Fanny stooped forward and 
kissed it. 

“We will never mention that troublesome man 
again, Olivia.” 

“ Oh, but I must hear what Kitty has to say next 
about him, and you must not think of Mr. Ambrose as 
a tabooed subject ” — a very devil of audacity prompted 
Olivia to speak out gaily and boldly — “it is quite put- 
ting the cart before the horse that he should be blamed 
for our absurdity. Mayn’t I come over again soon, dear 
Lady Fanny? ” 

Of course she might; Lady Fanny could hardly let 
her go as it was ; and there was kissing in the drawing- 
room and kissing in the hall ; and cautions against 
taking cold on the one hand, and assurances on the 
other ; and out came the older lady to the doorstep to 
look at the sky, and hope that the rain would keep off 
till her dear Olivia got home, and as dear Olivia had 
barely a mile to drive, there ensued laughing protesta- 
tions ; and, finally, a word over the carriage-door which 
was not for the footman to hear; and at last a final 
wave of hands within and without, and the great visit 
was over. 


18 


274 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

“ Most successfully over,” Willie said, when he 
heard the history of it. So Lady Fanny was affection- 
ate and confidential, and had pressed Olivia to go 
again? And she had had it out about Kitty’s letter 
and all the rest of it ? And there was nothing new 
about Ambrose, he supposed ? 

“ Algy will be the person to tell us if there is any- 
thing to tell about Mr. Ambrose,” said Olivia to this ; 
“ it will be odd their meeting at Scarborough : I suspect 
Algy will be a little surprised.” 

Doesn’t he know, then ? ” 

“ We agreed that there was no need to tell him, you 
know. It was better to say as little as possible about 
Mr. Ambrose’s odd behaviour, and Algy never cared for 
him. Besides ” she paused. 

“Well?” 

“ It would be no bad thing for Mr. Ambrose to see 
we had not talked about him or his movements, con- 
sidering that he treated us with so little ceremony.” 

“ I see. When does the boy go ? ” 

He was to go on the following Saturday, that day 
being Wednesday. On Friday, Olivia was over again 
at the Thatchers’ door. 

She was going quite openly this time to hear if Kitty 
had written anew ? She had made her husband invite 
the colonel for another day’s partridge shooting 

“ But, I say, it won’t stand another whole day so 
soon,” objected he. 

“ Have him for a couple of hours in the afternoon 
then ; ” — and so it was arranged — and this time Lady 
Fanny had actually been herself coming to The Willow 
House if she had not been forestalled. 

Olivia went early, having seen off her aunts, who 
were departing ; and the day being fine, she suggested 
a drive instead of a drawing-room conference. 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 275 

Olivia was not quite so sure of herself as she had 
been on the former occasion, when Lady Fanny’s flank 
movement had been met in a manner that did credit 
to her opponent’s aplomb, Olivia was of the nature 
of those who can make an apt reply at the moment 
and tremble afterwards. 

On thinking over the interview she wondered at her- 
self ; at her calmness, her composure. She could not be 
so phlegmatic again ; she feared to be so tried again — 
and yet she could not keep away from the Thatchers’ 
house. 

And they were scarcely off in the carriage ere her 
companion began. “We have had another letter, Olivia, 
and in the same strain, only worse — that is, more tire- 
some and incomprehensible than the first. I — to con- 
fess the truth, I have not shown it to John.” 

“No, really?” said Olivia, with interest — and then 
looked for more. 

“ It is fuller than ever of Mr. Ambrose ; what he does, 
what he says, what he thinks. The Rushingtons figure 
largely in it too, but always in connection with him. He is 
the central point round which they all revolve. He goes 
with them everywhere — or at least everywhere that Kitty 
thinks worth mentioning — and any new people who come 
to her aunt’s house or whom she meets elsewhere are 
only incidentally referred to as being ‘ So delighted to 
meet Mr. Ambrose,’ or ‘ So struck by some remarks of 
Mr. Ambrose ’. It is really rather too much, is it not? ” 

“ Only that we all know Kitty,” smiled Olivia — 
though inwardly she winced ever so slightly, picturing 
to herself the unhappy victim of this misplaced riot of 
enthusiasm. 

How he must hate it — how it must grate on him and 
irritate him ! Yet perhaps as a refuge from his own 
thoughts, his own sad and bitter thoughts, he found it 
18 * 


276 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


useful? Yes, doubtless that was his object, first in going 
to a noisy pleasure resort, and next in staying there ; a 
place where he was involved in a senseless whirl of 
trivial merry-making, foreign to his tastes at any time, 
and especially obnoxious at the present moment. 

“ Oh, yes ; we know Kitty,” rejoined Kitty’s mother, 
with an impatient little sigh, “and if I had Kitty here, 
I could soon bring her to reason, I know. She is some- 
times a little difficult to manage, but she generally 
listens to me in the long run — that is, she did until — 
but it was not your fault, Olivia, that you fascinated 
my poor little girl and perhaps drew her away — but no 
matter, I am sure I wish she had you now to talk to. 
I don’t fancy Mrs. Hothfield has any influence.” 

“ How much longer does she stay at Scarborough ? ” 
Olivia quietly put aside the digression. More, she tried 
to put aside her own feelings, and enter into those of a 
harassed parent who had not now even her husband to 
consult with. She fell back on a practical inquiry and 
made it in a practical manner : Lady Fanny rose to the 
bait at once. 

“ That is another thing. She wishes to go to the 
Rushingtons after she leaves her aunt. Now, the 
Rushingtons — it is kind of them to ask her, but from 
what you say of them — what? But, my dear Olivia, 
you certainly did give me to understand that you declined 
to vouch for the Rushington girls, and in fact knew very 
little about them ? ” 

“ That is true, Lady Fanny — but I also said I knew 
no harm of them.” 

“No harm says so very little; gives one very little 
confidence, my dear. And if that is all you can say, and 
since apart from your knowledge of the family we have 
absolutely none, I cannot think it desirable that Kitty 
should accept their invitation.” 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 277 


‘‘ Well, no, I don’t suppose it is,” acquiesced Olivia 
frankly, and had opened her lips to proceed, when the 
older lady struck in again with energy. 

“ Yet, she will go ; she is bent upon it, I can see by 
her letter. It is a mere form her asking our permission. 
No doubt she has told them so already.” 

“ Can you not say she is wanted at home ? ” 

“ But she is not wanted, unluckily. We are about 
to have a little painting and papering done, it has been 
delayed till now, owing to the Lorings’ visit, and cannot 
be put off any longer. The men are to begin to-morrow ; 
everything is arranged ; and Kitty’s bedroom is all upset, 
as well as those of the other children whom we left 
behind at Eastbourne, on purpose to keep the house 
clear. Kitty knows this ; refers to it ; handles it I may 
say as a weapon for getting her own way ; and adds that 
her aunt cannot keep her longer, as if to clinch the 
matter.” 

“And there is no other visit you can arrange for 
her ? ” 

“ My dear, she would simply decline any other 
visit.” 

“ Not if you told her in confidence that you did not 
wish her to go to the Rushingtons, and that she must 
make this other visit a pretext to refuse them.” 

“ I could do that, yes, I could do that ” — but the 
brightened expression on Lady Fanny’s face faded as 
rapidly as it came — “if I could think of any house,” 
she murmured. “ But we know no one near Scar- 
borough, and I fear if I were to speak of removing 
Kitty from that part, her father would not understand 
it, and would grumble at the expense. Journeys are 
expensive, you know. He would be sure to say she 
ought to stay where she is now that she is there, and 
come straight back when she leaves. And, oh, I had 


278 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


forgotten she had her return ticket ; of course that 
settles it. You don’t understand these little difficulties, 
Olivia,” her ladyship smiled and sighed, “ but with our 
large family they are very real to us.” 

“ Indeed I do understand them,” said Olivia — al- 
though she did not in the least, but only wished to be 
kind — “ and I should have liked so much to have asked 
Kitty to come to us. But Willie and I are going away 
ourselves. Willie insists upon it. He thinks I need a 
change ” 

So we all think; and I rejoice you are going to 
have it, my dear,” and Olivia’s hand was pressed. 
‘‘You will be all the better for a good breath of sea air 
— but you are not thinking of going to Scarborough 
too?” — suddenly Lady Fanny withdrew the hand, as if 
a sudden thought had startled her. 

“To Scarborough? Oh, dear, no; the last place in 
the world we should go to. A detestable place,” said 
Olivia, vehemently. “ What could have put Scarborough 
into your head. Lady Fanny? ” 

“ I am sure I — don’t know, Olivia.” 

“ It is all this worry about Kitty, I suppose.” After 
a minute’s pause, Olivia resumed: “As she seems to 
find Scarborough so attractive, you fancy everyone else 
would. For myself I repeat ” — and there was a little 
unnecessary emphasis on the repetition — “that there is 
no place I would not rather find myself in at this time, 
none.*' 

“ My dear, you look quite fierce about it ! ” 

“ It was such a cruel suggestion,” said Olivia, 
laughing not quite naturally, “ and I almost seemed to 
hear Willie giving in to it. If he had heard you just 
now, it would have been, ‘ And why not Scarborough ? 
You see Lady Fanny approves it ’ ; — and all my life I 
have struggled to keep clear of those vulgar, odious, 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 279 

cheap-tripper horrors. Pray, Lady Fanny, pray never 
mention Scarborough or any of its kith and kin to 
Willie.” 

“Where do you propose going then?” inquired 
Lady Fanny smiling, for no one could help smiling 
when Olivia gave her tongue the rein. 

“We don’t know where. Anywhere will do.” 
Olivia subsided with as swift a transition to lassitude 
and indifference as before to energy. It is Willie who 
wants to go, not I ; I should rather stay at home,” — 
and she put up her hand to her cheek with a wearied 
air. 

“The very reason why your husband is right in 
carrying you off,” nodded Lady Fanny, with a maternal 
air. “You have been stagnating here all through the 
sultry days of August ” 

“ Indeed, they were not sultry, they were heavenly, 
but ” — Olivia recollected herself — “ I daresay they were 
not good for one, and I shall be better for a little bracing 
up. Now, to return to Kitty, I should have been so glad 
to help you if I could. Lady Fanny.” 

“ I am sure you would, my dear.” Then, “ How 
soon does Oxford term begin ? ” abruptly demanded 
Lady Fanny, the bent of whose thoughts was thus 
proclaimed. 

“Not for another fortnight ; but Mr. Ambrose will 
never stay at Scarborough all that time,” replied Olivia, 
not pretending she did not understand. 

“Oh, I don’t know, why not?” rejoined Lady 
Fanny, dejectedly. “ Kitty gives no intimation of his 
departure.” 

“ At Scarborough ! I cannot think of him at Scar- 
borough,” mused Olivia, half to herself, her thoughts 
flying back to a reposeful figure reclining beneath the 
shade of a spreading elm, “ Mr. Ambrose may have 


280 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


been enticed thither by a — a need of change — and 
sea-breezes — and general waking up ; he was often 
moody and depressed when here, — but he would never 
endure a place like Scarborough long. Depend upon it, 
he will be off long before his presence is required at 
Oxford. Then Kitty will ” 

“Yes?” 

“ Fasten on some one else,” said Olivia. “ Do 
forgive me, but it does seem so very likely that all 
this grand furore will have a very common-place 
ending.” 

“And I am sure I hope it may,” said Lady Fanny, 
briskly. 


“What, you want to go to the Thatchers again?” 
exclaimed Willie Seaford, a few days after this. “Again? 
My word ! I didn’t expect the pendulum to take such 
a swing back as all that. However — all right,” and 
he gave the order to the coachman and stepped in- 
side the carriage beside his wife. Olivia had met him 
at the station, and now suggested calling together at 
The Grange on their way home. 

“ It’s all right,” repeated he, tucking the rug round 
his knees, “just what I like, that neighbourly popping 
in and out ; only it’s a bit sudden, eh, Olivia ? They’ll 
like it, I daresay. They’ll like it,” and he leaned back, 
and chuckled to himself. 

“ Here they come, the very people in all the world 
I least wanted to see ! ” ejaculated Colonel Thatcher, 
ten minutes later. “ It’s the Seafords,” looking round. 
“ The Seafords, d’ye hear? They are turning in at the 
gate now. Well, can tell them, for I can’t,” and 
shuffling together some papers and catching up the hat 
and stick he had just laid down, he vanished. A man 
always does vanish when there is anything to be told, 


OLIVIA CANNOT KEEP AWAY 


281 


With a sinking heart, Lady Fanny remained behind, 
and heard the door-bell ring. 

And yet she could not have analysed the strange 
reluctance she felt to facing Olivia Seaford at the 
moment. It was there — no doubt it was there — but 
why ? The news she had to give Olivia was not bad 
news, it might even have been termed after a fashion 
good news. It was at once a vindication, a justification, 
and an exoneration, and as if these “ Ations ” were not 
enough, it was also a revelation. Why mind disbursing 
herself of her revelation ? 

“I’m sure I don’t know,” argued poor Lady Fanny 
ruefully. 

And she looked so grave as she came forward that 
Olivia, who had begun gaily, “ We just looked in,” 
stopped dead, her lips parting. 

“ So kind, I am glad you did.” The elder lady made 
a nervous effort to be herself, and prolonged the greet- 
ing as though afraid of what would come next. “ So 
very glad to see you,” repeated she, quite unaware of 
any fictitiousness in the fervour of her assertion. “ For 
I — for we — we have — have — have ” Again a pain- 

ful nervousness impeded her speech, and this time it 
was Willie Seaford’s hearty accents which interposed. 

“ Hullo, what’s up, Lady Fanny? Nothing wrong, 
I hope? ” (“ Can there have been an accident or any- 

thing? ” reflected he, ready to fly for the doctor.) But 
her next words checked the idea. 

“ Oh, no ; nothing wrong — nothing wrong certainly.” 
She faltered and resumed, “ But we are a little upset, my 
husband and I — or perhaps I should say startled and — 
and we are not altogether sure that it — it is agreeably so.” 

“ Sorry for that,” Willie’s face beamed with good- 
will, then shaded with sympathy. “ Sorry for that,” he 
repeated, not thinking of anything better to add. 


282 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


“ We had never dreamed of anything of the kind,” 
proceeded his hostess, ‘‘and — and — and ” 

“And it has agitated you, I fear?” This time it 
was Olivia who gently intervened. But a cold chill 
crept through the speaker’s veins as she spoke. 

“ It has. Yes, it has. But I had better speak out. 
You will wonder why I am so foolish, for I have only 
an ordinary event to — to announce. We heard from 
Kitty this morning — we also had a letter from Mr. 
Ambrose.” 

Lady Fanny looked down. 

There was a long pause. 

“They ask our consent to an engagement between 
them.” 


CHAPTER XIIL 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER. 

And now to see what brought about this startling 
announcement. When Philip Ambrose, a wretched 
object, was caught drifting about the London streets, 
captured and carried off by a little girl of eighteen, whom 
he regarded in the light of a plaything, nothing was 
further from his thoughts than to seek society, unless 
it were to enter into matrimony ; yet almost immediately 
he found himself embarked upon the one, and at the 
end of a fortnight prepared to face the other. How was 
this done? 

It is sad to have to say it in the case of a man of power, 
position, and influence, but the truth must be told ; self- 
esteem first mortified, then gratified and inflated, bore 
down all previous resolutions, and over-mastered all 
other feelings — till eventually Ambrose lost sight of 
these last altogether, and fancied he had achieved a 
triumph, when in reality he had committed a childish 
act of folly. He was not the first nor will he be the last 
to imagine a lover is reinstated in the opinion of a 
woman who has slighted him, by the fact that he has 
speedily replaced her by one who has not. 

Not of course that Ambrose thought of himself as 
Olivia’s lover ; he was, as we have seen, a cold-blooded, 
and would have called himself a virtuous man, and the 
sentiment wherewith he regarded Mrs. Seaford was 
perfectly lawful in his own eyes. 

283 


284 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

But he would have acknowledged it to be strong — 
strong and deep and all-pervading — a powerful factor in 
his daily life, and a crown of glory over hers, — and he 
felt that in return she ought to have poured forth the 
treasures of her soul at his feet. 

So she had done — for a while ; and then ? When- 
ever he thought of those last hours in the beautiful 
garden, whenever he saw an evening sky that reminded 
him of the glow over the Surrey hills, whenever he 
smelt a certain fragrance — Kitty held up a bunch of 
mignonette to him once and he shuddered at it — he 
experienced an inner revulsion of feeling that almost 
made him hate Olivia. 

He certainly felt that he would give much, in vulgar 
phrase, to pay her out. She should not have it all her 
own way ; she should see that he was acceptable and 
prosperous elsewhere. Oh, spite is an old, old in- 
habitant of the human breast, and plays his part to-day 
as in the days before the flood — and when Philip 
Ambrose, the distinguished scholar, the eagerly-sought- 
after and made-much-of man of science walked about 
Scarborough with a cock-a-hoop air, turning in at this 
door and that, and showing himself wherever there was 
a gay assemblage, who would have guessed that a little 
black demon with an ugly name, often propelled his 
footsteps and prompted his actions? 

Least of all would Miss Kitty Thatcher, who had 
brought her great man to the place, and consequently 
looked upon him in the light of her own property, per- 
ceive anything in Mr. Ambrose but a most amiable 
readiness to be and do all that his little band of followers 
desired. They mapped out his days for him, and oc- 
casionally his evenings also — though these last were 
assailed with more diffidence. 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 285 

“ I am afraid the Rushingtons want you to go to 
them again to-night,” quoth Kitty once. 

He had been so very often at the Rushingtons that 
she had said, and said decidedly, that she could not 
answer for her friend now — (he was generally known as 
“ Kitty’s friend ”) — but would approach him ; and this 
was how he was approached — with circumspection and 
a timid look. 

“ The Rushingtons ! Oh ! ” said he, genially. “ At 
what o’clock? ” He seemed to take it for granted the 
invitation was to be accepted. 

“You will go? Oh, how kind, how delightful of 
you,” cried Kitty, all elation — “they will be pleased. 
Mrs. Rushington said she scarcely ventured to propose 
it, and that I must act as go-between. You see we are 
rather afraid of our lion,” she wound up archly. 

“ He doesn’t bite, you know,” rejoined he, with his 
somewhat ponderous humour. 

“ He only growls a little sometimes,” Kitty nodded 
back. 

“ Not at you. Come, you can’t say he ever growled 
at yoUy' and this is not the first time emphasis had been 
laid upon the “ You ”. 

Perhaps Ambrose had learnt the trick from Kitty 
herself. He had been present on more than one oc- 
casion when Olivia was the subject of some such 
adoring intonation, and had he consciously recalled it 
now, would certainly have employed some other means 
of marking out his lambkin from the fold, — but as it was, 
Kitty's little heart beat high as she listened. 

And she did not tell Amy and Florence Rushington 
about it, which was a new departure for our little maid. 

Hitherto she had proudly recounted the various 
trivialities which constituted her claim to be looked 
upon as Ambrose’s sponsor in their coterie; she ac- 


286 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


cepted the responsibility with a demure air which did 
not deceive, and was not meant to deceive any one ; 
but of late a certain reserve had been manifested, and 
it was only to herself that she now whispered “ Tow,” 
and dwelt upon the look by which it was accentuated. 

In fine, Kitty thought she was in love, and played 
the part very prettily. So prettily indeed, and with so 
much sweetness and womanliness, that Ambrose, who 
had begun by making use of her as an emollient where- 
with to heal his hidden sore, began gradually to debate 
within himself whether things had not gone far enough, 
and whether he ought not now to slip away through 
the first loop-hole that offered? 

He felt kindly and gratefully towards his little 
comforter; and if she would have been satisfied with 
such a return for her ministrations, would have been 
well content to stay where he was till due back at 
Oxford ; but if his doing so were to jeopardise poor 
Kitty’s happiness, he must really, must really put 
aside his own inclinations, since he was a celibate by 
preference, his bachelor lodgings being all the domestic 
hearth he cared for. 

Thus he communed with himself one day — the next 
he took an opposite view of the matter. Some time or 
other he should marry, and there was no earthly reason 
why he should not marry at once. He had not, it is 
true, given the matter much previous thought, but this 
was doubtless due to the engrossing nature of his work, 
which left him little time for philandering among the 
Oxford ladies, and so far he had had no chance of be- 
coming intimate with any others. Olivia Seaford had 
come to him as a — he dashed down the book in his 
hand, as he reflected on the revelation Olivia had been 
to him. 

And he sat for a long time afterwards with his head 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 287 

hanging on his breast. He was an argumentative man, 
and he set himself to reason out the matter. 

Ultimately it shaped itself thus : he was ripe for 
women ; he needed them ; contact with them developed 
unknown qualities within himself which further re- 
quired the stimulus of their smiles to mature, and in 
the fostering atmosphere of Mrs. Seaford’s presence 
they had rushed ahead. 

That was all — absolutely all. Any other agree- 
able and imaginative female possessed of a certain 
amount of brain — and beautiful of course — he paused. 
He could not deny Olivia’s beauty, and it exasperated 
him to find that he could not get rid of it. 

He could not forget it. It rose before him under 
various aspects, beheld at different times, in this light 
and that. Kitty stabbed him once with an innocent 
remark, “ Does not that figure remind you of someone 
we know, Mr. Ambrose? ” The figure was in front of 
them on the parade, silhouetted against the sky — 
Ambrose had seen the resemblance to Olivia some 
minutes before Kitty spoke. He made an excuse to 
quit the party immediately afterwards. 

And now it seemed to him that his only chance of 
chasing the one image from his thoughts was to sub- 
stitute another — yet at the first blush, and indeed for 
some little time after the first blush, the form of that 
other was not the form of Kitty Thatcher. Kitty was 
too unlike Olivia, could not stand beside her for a 
moment — a dear little girl, but he must have a woman 
of presence, a fine, handsome, noticeable woman. 
Should she have, in common parlance, “ A handle to her 
name ” so much the better — Mrs. Seaford made no 
pretensions towards being an aristocrat, he would like 
her to hear of him as being engaged to a “ Lady ” 
So-and-so. 


288 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


The difficulty was that with all his certainty of 
being welcome in great houses, he did not actually know 
of one to begin upon, and his holiday time was drawing 
to a close. He pondered whether any of his Scarborough 
acquaintances might not prove stepping-stones, but 
rejected the idea. They were gentlefolks, but not of a 
superior rank to the Seafords, or the Thatchers. The 
Thatchers indeed — on a sudden he recalled that Kitty 
Thatcher was an earl’s grand-daughter. 

An earl’s grand-daughter; then what if Kitty’s 
parents looked higher for her than an Oxford don, 
albeit a man of renown in his zenith ? Poor little Kitty, 
who a short while before had been not good enough, 
suddenly appeared in the light of too good for him. 
She was young, pretty, attractive, and Lady Fanny 
might have other views for her eldest daughter. 

To cut the matter short, from one consideration to 
another, not the least of which was the very obvious im- 
pression he had already made on little Kitty herself, he 
arrived at the conclusion that the idea was at least 
worth entertaining, and that at any rate he had no need 
to fly from Scarborough. . . . 

“I say, who’s that?” Algy Rushington, who had 
arrived at his parents’ temporary residence the evening 
before, was walking out with the family next day, being 
shown the place and having this and that pointed out 
to him, when he suddenly stopped short and uttered the 
above exclamation. 

Who was that ? The others laughed ; it was Mr. 
Ambrose, of course; did he not know Mr. Ambrose? 
Of course he must know him. 

“ Ambrose here ? ” cried the boy, staring harder than 
before at the advancing figure. “ What — what on earth 
is he here for? ” 

Upon which they all laughed again, it was really 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 289 

too comical ; what did Algy mean ? Why should Mr. 
Ambrose not be there ? He had been there ever so 
long. 

“ But — but he went to America,” blurted out the 
newcomer, as though his eyes were deceiving him. 

“ America ! Well, I suppose people do go to America 
and come back again,” observed Amy Rushington, on 
whose arm her brother leant ; “you funny boy, tell us 
what you mean, quick before he comes up — and my 
dear, you needn’t pinch me ” — for his nervous fingers 
were gripping her tighter than he was aware of. 

“ To turn up here ! ” muttered he, confusedly, “ and 
he only went a fortnight ago ! He must have just got 
there and back ! — no, he can’t, he couldn’t, he can’t have 
gone ” 

“ Mr. Ambrose ? Mr. Ambrose ? ” cried Amy, glad 
of any pretext for accosting the lion of the hour in 
public, though in private Kitty Thatcher might have 
the prior claim — “ here is a problem for you to solve. 
How did you get to America and back in a fortnight ? 
Of course you just could and no more — but here’s my 
brother ” 

“ How d’ye do ? ” said Ambrose, nodding to him with 
an air of easy superiority. 

“ Now won’t you explain the mystification ? ” con- 
tinued Miss Rushington, “for here are Algy’s eyes 
starting out of his head.” 

“ Because, sir, you wrote in your note that you were 
off in a hurry to America, and had no time to say good- 
bye,” quoth Algy for himself; “so of course, I didn’t 
expect to see you here.” His look added “ Nor did I 
wish it.” 

“I changed my plans,” said Ambrose, coolly, “and 
came to Scarborough instead. No objection, I sup- 
pose? ” 


19 


290 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

‘‘Algy looks as if he thought you had some evil 
motive in doing it,” laughed Florence Rushington, 
“ some dark and sinister design ” 

‘‘ Don’t talk such beastly rot.” Algy turned on her 
with a sharpness very unusual in a gentle boy, affection- 
ately treated. “ It’s no business of mine what Mr. 
Ambrose does or where he goes. A fellow may be sur- 
prised ” and he muttered to himself. 

“ You have come straight from The Willow House, 
I suppose?” Ambrose affected a jaunty air, beneath 
which a keen observer might however have detected a 
certain alertness of observation. He knew perfectly that 
such was the case, but surely his movements had been 
followed at The Willow House, and if so, why this 
astonishment on the part of its recent inmate? “And 
you — you thought I had gone to America, ha ! ha ! 
ha ! You are behind the times,” he was proceeding 
jocularly, but Algy cut him short. 

“ Since you never told us, it wasn’t likely we should 
know anything else,” retorted he, bluntly. “ You 
bolted — I mean you started for America, and we never 
heard anything more of you.” 

“Sure?” said Ambrose, eyeing him. 

“Oh, come along” — the boy turned fretfully to his 
own party — “ what are we all standing here for? Come 
on, Amy ; ” in her ear, and he urged her forward, and 
took no more notice of Ambrose and his incredulous 
“ Sure? ” than if it had never been spoken. 

“ Oh, Algy, how awfully rude you were,” began 
she as soon as out of earshot — but the sisterly admoni- 
tion was nipped in the bud. 

“ I only wish I had been ruder ; I wish I knew how 
to be ruder; I just hate that supercilious ass. Come 
along, come along, let’s get as far from him as ever we 
can. If I had known he was here,” said the poor lame 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 291 

boy, panting with the efforts he was making, “ Td never 
— that is Td rather have gone anywhere else.” 

But when pressed to say why, Algy was too loyal to 
Olivia to give the real reason. Ambrose was a low cad, 
and a bumptious beast, and one who had no end of an 
opinion of himself — but beyond this somewhat vague 
description he would not go. 

Was he downright bad to you, yourself? He was 
not over civil to you just now ? ” persevered Amy, 
having tried in vain to get at the root of the matter 
otherwise. “ But I must say, Algy, you attacked him 
first, and in a distinctly aggressive way. I couldn’t 
think how you dared.” 

“ Dared ? Do you think I’m afraid of him ? I shall 
say what I choose to him, beastly cad that he is.” 

He must have been horrid to you, for you to speak 
like that,” nodded she, reflectively. “ Well, I never 
liked Mr. Ambrose, and I said only the other day I 
thought all this fuss about him rather over-done ; and 
if he has been nasty to you, dear, even mother won’t 
pander to him any more.” 

“ I never said he had been nasty to me. How you 
do catch up a fellow. I said he was a conceited ass, 
and expected everybody to bow down before him. And 
I suppose that’s what you are all doing here ; so now 
he looks all on the top of the wave again, though when 
he left The Willow House ” 

“ Well ? ” said she, “ Well ? ” 

“ He was like a sucked gooseberry skin,” said Algy, 
with a retrospective gleam on his pale face. Amy 
laughed till the people looked at her as they passed. 

“ Don’t make such a row,” admonished he, but in 
more complacent accents. “ He was, though. There 
wasn’t a kick left in him. I’ll tell you — at least I’ll tell 
in a sort of way, for of course it isn’t fair to peach about 
19 * 


292 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

what goes on in a house — but anyhow, there was some- 
thing that stuck-up ass took offence at, something the 
Seafords — no, not the Seafords, for he wasn’t there — 
but mind you, Amy, you’re not to go telling this, 
promise you won’t — well then, Mrs. Seaford was the 
one ” 

“ That even my mean understanding can grasp. 
Olivia is always the one ” Amy laughed meaningly. 

“ She’s as nice as ever she can be. She’s the nicest 
woman I have ever known. Much you know about 
her ! ” he choked with indignation, and loosened his 
hold so abruptly that he stumbled and nearly fell. “ I 
say, don’t you ever speak against Mrs. Seaford,” he 
panted, recovering. 

“But tell me the end of her and Mr. Ambrose, and 
don’t be a silly boy ; of course I shan’t if she was kind 
to you,” said Amy. “ She is rather repellent to the 
world at large, you know ; still, if she is good to my 
Algy — there, there,” patting his hand, “ Olivia Seaford 
is sacred to me henceforth. So now ” 

“ She was good to both of us, to me and to him, — 
but he couldn’t bear me — and was always trying to 
get her away from me, — and what I was going to say 
was there was something he chose to be angry about — 
and you never saw anything so beastly as his face when 
he is angry — and I just rubbed it in.” 

“yo^^did?” 

“ She sent me. It was a message she gave me — 
you needn’t ask what, for I shan’t tell — but that was 
the end of him at The Willow House.” 

“ He wasn’t staying in the house, was he ? ” Truth 
to tell, Amy was not vitally interested, and his sensitive 
ear detected apathy in her accents. 

“You needn’t listen if you don’t want,” muttered 
he, offended; “you asked me, or I shouldn’t have 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 293 

bothered you with it. I didn’t want to talk about 
Ambrose, I dislike him too much.” 

'‘You had better not say so to Kitty Thatcher,” 
suddenly Amy aroused herself; “ there he comes, and 
Kitty with him. Algy dear, you will be careful before 
Kitty Thatcher, won’t you? ” 

“ Before Kitty Thatcher ?” emitted he, blankly. He 
had rather liked Kitty on the day they met at TheWillow 
House ; in fact, if he had seen more of her he was pre- 
pared to like her very much — but he had been drawn olf, 
and therefore only retained a vaguely pleasurable re- 
collection, sufficient, however, to make his sister’s words 
unpalatable. 

“ Mr. Ambrose is her friend,” proceeded Amy, 
significantly ; “ it was the Thatchers who originally in- 
troduced him to us all, and Kitty ” But the pair in 

front drew near. 

Instinctively Algy’s hand went up to his cap, but 
the face beneath wore such an expression that Kitty’s 
smile faded on her lips. She was prepared to stop — she 
had to pass on. And that very night, she and Ambrose 
were engaged. 

With his faculty for drawing rapid deductions, the 
boy’s truculent air appeared to Philip Ambrose so 
threatening, so likely to disconcert his half-conceived 
arrangements and make of himself a possible laughing- 
stock, that he foresaw he had not a moment to lose if 
he were to prevent an ugly story, made uglier in the 
mouth of a malevolent narrator, from being bruited 
abroad. 

Up to the moment of Algy Rushington’s appearance 
on the scene, he had felt so securely entrenched in his 
present position, that although aware the former was 
coming to Scarborough, he conceived his doing so a 
matter of no importance ; either Algy would have for- 


294 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

gotten, or would be overawed — but now it was a danger- 
signal he saw hoisted, and he could not afford to despise 
it. The letters received by Kitty’s parents were de- 
spatched the next morning. 


“ I wish I could have seen more of how Olivia took 
it,” said Lady Fanny to her husband after the Seafords 
had gone, and he had come creeping back into the room 
to hear accounts. “ I was particularly anxious to see 
the impression it made upon her — but her husband was 
so tiresome — well-meaning, of course, still one can 
always count upon his being kind and cordial, — and I 
did wish he would have let her speak.” 

“So you couldn’t tell what she thought? But I 
suppose she was civil enough ? ” 

“Really I — yes, I suppose she was; but though I 
addressed myself to her naturally, he was so officious 
with his congratulations, and so determined to be heard, 
that I was literally forced to give him the most of my 
attention.” 

“ He seemed to think it a matter of congratulation ? 
That’s your City man all over ; birth goes for nothing 
with him, it’s all if a fellow has money, or brains, or is 
a big-wig of some sort ; I suppose Willie Seaford con- 
siders we ought to jump at Ambrose, eh?” 

“ I suppose he does. Many people will. I shall 

have to give it out as if we were pleased, and yet ” 

Lady Fanny sighed uneasily. 

“Well, well; there’s no use going over the ground 
again ; if we don’t like it, we’ve got to lump it,” frowned 
he; “but about the Seafords? You say Willie was ?” 

“ Oh, exuberant. At any rate, talkative and trouble- 
some. Evidently with no idea that it could be possi- 
ble for there to be two opinions about the desirability 
of the match.” 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 295 

“ Humph ! ” — the colonel put out his lips, and con- 
sidered. “ You can’t blame him for that. There was 
nothing in that to find fault with. If a girl’s parents 
announce an engagement, the only decent way of taking 
it is to take it for granted it’s satisfactory to them. 
Besides, poor Willie — he’s not sharp — never sees beyond 
his nose — and I’d be bound you showed nothing?” 

“ I did my best, but I could not be very — that is to 
say, I should have thought they might have seen that 
we were not elated. I certainly should not wish Olivia, 
after all I have said to her on the subject already, to 
fancy we were not taken by surprise. If I could only 
have had her alone ! ” 

And the sole comfort that Olivia had on that miser- 
able homeward drive was that she had not been alone. 
She had got through her ordeal somehow, she could 
hardly tell how, but always at a bad moment there had 
been Willie’s interested voice and his steady consump- 
tion of food and drink between her and observation ; and 
at the worst, when Lady Fanny, resolutely turning from 
him, proposed an adjournment to herself, and even got 
as far as “ Would you come with me, Olivia? I want 

to show you ” even at this crisis he had saved her 

and what was more, sacrificed himself for her. 

“ P'or I knew it wasn’t the thing to talk about the 
horses,” affirmed he afterwards ; and as a matter of 
fact they can stand any time ; it’s all rot about horses 
not standing — but I thought we had stayed long 
enough ; I wanted an excuse to get home, and couldn’t 
hit on anything else. I say, you didn’t mind, did you ? 
Because I knew it was vulgar and ostentatious and all 
that — and it was only because I was driven to it — and 
after all. Lady Fanny knows me, and if she thinks the 
worst of me I can’t help it.” And the theme lasted till 
they were well away from The Grange precincts. 


296 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

Then it was : “ A stupid affair this of Kitty’s, I must 
say. I thought the little goose had more sense. A 
girl who has been nowhere and seen nobody to take 
the first man that asks her ! A man twenty years older 
than herself But I suppose I did well enough ? I 
said the correct thing, eh ? ” 

“ Oh, yes. Yes, you said the correct thing many 
times over;” Olivia forced a faint, dreary smile. “You 
were admirable, Willie. I am sure Lady Fanny must 
have felt you were, and been grateful.” 

“ Because, you see, it was pretty plain that she 
didn’t like it and didn’t know what to say about it. But 
the colonel and she can’t very well object ; there’s 
nothing they can object to, poor souls. In a way it’s 
quite a decent marriage, and yet it’s rottenly unsuitable, 
and they think it so. I expect the idea never entered 
their heads, — but if you send a girl like Kitty off by 
herself with no one to tether her, she’s bound to get into 
mischief.” 

“We mustn’t call it mischief, you know, Willie.” 

“Not to them of course, nor to other people; but, 
between you and me, that silly little thing doesn’t know 
what she is doing. She thinks it a monstrous fine 
thing to be made a fuss about and star it over other 
girls ; she has been nobody till now, and had no decent 
dress allowance nor anything.” 

“She has always had a happy home.” Olivia 
struggled to say something, it mattered not what, in a 
voice that should not betray her. If he would only 
keep to Kitty, she might be able to do this. 

“A happy home, to be sure,” acquiesced he, heartily ; 
“ as jolly a home as one could wish, with all those little 
brothers and sisters. I shall never forget how they ran 
me about that evening — hum— ha ! — where are they all 
now, by the way ? Didn’t see or hear any of them. 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 297 

and the house seemed queerly quiet ; generally one or 
other comes popping in, or you hear any number of 
them tumbling up and down stairs, for, though it’s a 
well-enough built house, you do hear noises — what? 
Oh, they’re all away? Thought they must be.” 

“There is painting being done in the upper rooms. 
Lady Fanny told me all about it the other day.” 

“ Aye, I remember ; I saw a ladder, too, as we went 
by.” 

“That was why Kitty could not come home this 
week.” 

“ And if she had come, this engagement might 
never — Lord, the colonel won’t care to pay that 
painter’s bill,” obseiwed Willie, grimly. “ He’d better 
have kept the door open for Kitty. . . . Well,” after 
a pause, “ it’s their look-out, if it comes off, which I 
have my doubts about. I know what I should do in 
his place.” 

“What would you do?” They were near home, 
and Olivia could breathe more freely, though her face 
was still turned aside. 

“ Make them wait a year ; say she’s too young, and 
that sort of thing. Then ten to one she cries off — especi- 
ally if some smart young fellow comes along in the 
meantime. But if the old folks are weak enough to 
give in — ah, here we are ! ” as they drew up, and the 
next minute he was out and handing her out ; “ run in 
and get warm, dear, it is almost too cold for the open 
carriage to-night,” and he gently pushed her through 
the doorway into the firelit, curtained nail, — but himself 
remained behind and did not follow till she had passed 
upstairs out of sight. 

Alone at last — and would she were not ! — that was 
Olivia’s first conscious thought. For one brief moment 
she almost thought she would fly back to her husband’s 


298 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

presence which necessitated self-control and a resolute 
grip upon the emotions, which once loosed, threatened to 
prove overwhelming ; but no, she would not be so weak, 
she would have it out with herself and master herself. 

At present she felt numb — she must wake the pain, 
and subdue it. 

What was this horrible thing that had befallen her ? 
She strove to be collected, and give herself to realising 
its nature and extent. Do not mistake, it was not the 
loss, the final and irrevocable loss of Ambrose which 
made the future so ghastly in Olivia’s eyes ; it was 
something infinitely worse, it was the fear, the trembling, 
shuddering fear, lest the dead past, which she had hoped 
’to bury out of sight and for ever, should start to life 
again. It was herself she could not bear to look upon 
in days to come. 

Ambrose as Kitty’s husband ! And hitherto, in con- 
junction with Kitty, he had simply ignored Kitty, had 
treated her as a child to be played with, or told to run 
away, according to his mood. What about that laugh- 
ing whisper “ Shall we send her home ? ” on the occasion 
of his first call at The Willow House ? Had he forgotten 
it ? Would he ever bethink himself of it now ? Yet he 
had deliberately chosen this little girl, whose sole at- 
traction in his eyes must be her youth and outward 
appearance, as his partner for life ! It was incredible, 
inexplicable. 

And again she had depicted Philip Ambrose in her 
mind’s eye, as flying from temptation and resolved to 
place himself beyond its reach. That picture must be 
blotted out ; it could never really have existed, (she 
winced, but it was only a passing spasm), — what made 
her shiver was the prospect in front, not behind. Her 
whole future life was to be overshadowed by the ig- 
nominy of this man’s act. 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 299 

For there would be no getting rid of it, no banishing 
it from memory, no escape from it as an ever-recurring 
torment liable at any moment to confront her in her 
daily path ; and what if she — if she grew to think of it 
by some other name ? What if once more she fell be- 
neath the spell ? No, no ; — she gasped, she panted, she 
almost cried aloud in her passionate denial — and yet — 
and yet ! 

Regaining self-command, Olivia strove to penetrate 
the veil of the future through the medium of sober pro- 
bability. It was not likely that she would ever be called 
upon to test her own strength with Ambrose as a married 
man, since he would neither have the desire to renew 
nor the opportunity for renewing his former footing at 
The Willow House. 

As Colonel Thatcher’s son-in-law he would develop 
new attributes, even supposing these were not called 
forth by Kitty as his wife. His new position would en- 
tail new responsibilities and limitations. He would alter 
— certainly he would alter, — and whether he improved 
or not, he would gradually cast the husk of his former 
self, till some day she might even have to wonder what 
that self had been like ? She cheered a little beneath 
the thought. 

But all too soon returned the vision of the interven- 
ing present. There would be the first meeting; there 
would be Kitty— no longer her own Kitty — radiant with 
bliss and swallowed up by importance ; she could see 
Kitty’s eyes following her lover about — and he compla- 
cent, benignant, perhaps a little shy before herself, yet 
not unwilling to parade his new-born supremacy, not 
indisposed to clink his festal chains, and laugh at the 
unregenerate days when he had scoffed at the same. 

How strange and unnatural it would be to see him 
thus ! How horrible for the spectator of the scene ! 


300 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

And it must be naturally followed by others of a like 
nature ; social amenities must be preserved, social ex- 
actions must be paid ; there must be ceremonious 
entertaining and wedding preparations. The wedding 
itself? She paused — could she not by some means or 
other contrive to absent herself on the wedding day? 

. . . But, after all, it was not this nor any other special 
occasion she dreaded ; they were nothing in comparison 
with those little trivial occurrences she foresaw haunt- 
ing her daily life, robbing it of all its peaceful security, 
fretting, distressing, unhinging, yet perhaps, oh, shame ! 
exciting and alluring. 

For, of course, Ambrose would come and go, having 
connected himself with the neighbourhood ; would, in- 
deed, be more frequently there, in that he had no ties 
elsewhere. 

Kitty’s home would be his home. He would adopt 
her people and her friends as his. During Oxford vaca- 
tions — six months of the year — he would be free to go 
where he chose ; and it was natural to suppose that he 
might often choose a quiet residence in a part of the 
country for which he had always expressed a predilection, 
when not claimed elsewhere. 

Then what if he fixed on a dwelling in the neigh- 
bourhood, even in the vicinity of The Willow House ? 
What if he began to walk up to the garden-door in the 
old way — she rose and the colour blazed into her face — 
Never, sir,” she said. Her frame shook, her knees 
tottered beneath — then slowly she sank upon them — 
“ Oh, God help me — ” she prayed. 

“ I think we might be off on Monday. Is there any- 
thing to prevent our going on Monday ? ” 

Willie Seaford had followed his wife into the drawing- 
room, carrying on a discussion begun at the dinner- table. 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 301 

“ I can get away then, if you can ; and we have put it 
off several times already ; let us fix on a day and stick 
to it.” 

“ Yes, Willie, very well, if you like.” Olivia took up 
a piece of rather desolate-looking needlework wherewith 
she had provided herself, and unrolled it. It had not 
seen the light for many a day, but to thread needles and 
sort silks might be a refuge now. “ Where shall we 
go ? ” proceeded she, laying the skeins across her knee. 

“ Paris,” said he, succinctly. 

“ Paris ? ” She looked up in spite of herself. “ Paris, 
Willie?” 

“ Paris, my dear,” he nodded a cheerful reiteration. 
“No place like Paris under certain circumstances. Cir- 
cumstances in the present instance are that it is late in 
the year; dull, and cold for the country ; that India and 
Japan and Rome and the Italian lakes all mean long 
journeys, and you don't like long journeys ” 

“ But, Willie — India — Japan?” she looked her amaze- 
ment. She was thoroughly arrested, the canvas slipped 
off her lap. 

“ Oh, I mean it,” he nodded again ; “ don’t you make 
any misfake about that. I intend to take the whip-hand 
of you on this occasion, my dear, and have only been 
debating with myself how far I could risk taking you ? 
If you didn’t look such a frail little thing ” 

“Little?” 

“You are ‘Little’ in one way if not in another — and 
a man always thinks of a woman he’s fond of as ‘ Little ’. 
I heard old Thatcher calling Lady Fanny ‘Little’ one 
day — I declare I did, and she’d make three of you or 
Kitty either.” 

“ How came you to hear it ? ” 

“ Oh, I was at the gate just behind them. He brought 
her letters, and had been hunting about for her : ‘ Here, 


302 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

take these, you little tiresome ’ he began, and then 

he saw me and stopped.” 

Olivia smiled a somewhat shadowy smile, and hesi- 
tated. “ Did you say I looked frail, Willie ? ” 

“And I am going to say it again. You’re run down, 
nervous, and out-of-sorts generally. Then this stupid 
business of Kitty Thatcher’s has upset you ; I know I 
felt as if I should like to knock all their heads together 
— so off we go, and to prove to you that I’m in earnest,” 
he fumbled in his pocket, “ here are our rooms engaged 
at the ‘ Bristol ’ ” ; and he threw her a letter. 

“You wrote for rooms without saying anything to 
me ? ” But Olivia did not look ill-pleased, and indeed 
had a sensation of being taken possession of by a pair of 
strong, sheltering arms which carried comfort and sup- 
port. “It takes my breath away, Willie” — and she 
read the epistle from beginning to end, as though it were 
something strange and novel. In reality she was not 
taking in a word, she was thinking, thinking fast and 
breathlessly. Did Willie guess — did he suspect — did he 
know ? 

Once or twice during her solitary hour upstairs it 
had passed across her mind to ask this question — indeed 
she had vaguely wondered at other times, times when 
it seemed as though he were unusually alert and tactful. 
Never once had he done the wrong thing at a crucial 
moment ; never once had he struck, as it were, a false 
note ; while, on the other hand, he had as it seemed 
accidentally and involuntarily shielded her when she 
was powerless to protect herself. 

But it was not till the great disclosure fell from 
Lady Fanny’s lips that Olivia had seriously believed — 
and even now she knew not what to believe. Certainly 
had her husband pierced her very soul he could not 
have lent her greater aid than he did at that exquisitely 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 303 

awful moment. He had, in what seemed the blunder- 
ing fashion of a blundering fool, thrust himself forward 
when by rights she should have taken the lead ; and 
when, but for what even the amiable hostess termed 
his officiousness, her bewilderment, her consternation 
and agitation must have betrayed her. 

Again, on the way home he had not once mentioned 
the name of Philip Ambrose. It was “ Kitty’s affair,” 
and it was as Kitty’s friend that he condemned it. 

During dinner he had openly and easily referred to 
the same as to a piece of interesting news — observing 
to her, during an interval when the servants had left 
the room, that as it would of course be in circulation 
everywhere directly, they might as well let their house- 
hold hear of it from themselves. “ There’s no need for 
them to know what we think,” added he, with a saga- 
cious pursing of the mouth ; “ we don’t want our opinions 
to get round to the Thatchers by the underground 
passage.” And again she applauded his prudence, and 
played up to it, as the saying is. 

It was little masterly touches such as this last which 
allayed Olivia’s suspicions as fast as they rose. For 
surely Willie, however clever and resourceful he might 
show himself in public, would not, could not be such 
a consummate actor in private — if, indeed, he could act 
at all? With her he never had acted and she had 
never dreamed he could act — and yet here he was once 
more baffling conjecture, and phlegmatic beneath 
scrutiny. She knew not what to think. 

And presently she discovered that Willie was speak- 
ing, and had been speaking for some time. 

“ It really is rather too bad here now, isn’t it ? ” He 
saw that her attention was roused at last, and waited 
for a reply. 

« I — I’m afraid I was not listening, Willie.” She 


304 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

looked apologetic and he nodded good-humouredly, 
“Taken up with the Paris idea. It is a ripping one, 
isn’t it ? But what I was saying was ” — (oh, what was 
he saying? What had he been saying? Her eyes 
dilated, and sought his searching) — “that we have really 
stood it long enough, the wretched kind of fish that 
woman has been giving us for dinner ever since we 
knocked off salmon. You spoke to her, I know; and 
she started all right for a day or two, but it’s been 
nothing but trash for a long time past. I may eat 
turbot and soles — and — oh, there are lots of decent 
kinds; Jack Malcolm made out quite a long list — but 
she never sends up any but those eternal whitings, or 
something equally poor and tasteless.” 

“ My poor Willie ! Why did you not speak before ? ” 

“ Seemed greedy, and that,” said he. “ And as you 
didn’t notice it ” 

“ But I might have noticed, I ought to have noticed ; 
I am so sorry, Willie.” 

“ It’s no matter, you know. Daresay it has done 
me good, for I’m too fond of fish, that’s a fact ; but then 
Jack Malcolm said fish of the right kind was no harm, 
and if I wanted to be extra particular it could be broiled, 
but I thought I wouldn’t bother to have it broiled,” he 
added, meditatively. 

“ I will take care you get what you like in future, 
Willie. I will speak about it to-morrow.” 

“Well, no, that’s just what I shouldn’t do if I were 
you, Olivia ; as we are going away so soon, I should 
wait till we come back, and then you could say — let me 
see — that we had taken to French cookery, eh?” 

“No, indeed,” she laughed a little; “and I don’t 
need to think of what I shall say. It is abominable 
that you should not have any kind of food you like on 
your table, paying the wages you do, and never stinting 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 305 

Mitcham in any way. It is my fault,” cried Olivia 
energetically, and was ready to pursue the subject as 
long as he chose. (He congratulated himself, “That 
fetched her,” thought he.) 

And when Paris came again upon the tapisy Olivia 
entered into the discussion of the projected trip with 
something resembling animation. She had only been 
abroad once in her life, and that under the guardianship 
of parents who travelled according to old school notions, 
engaging private carriages and private rooms wherever 
they went, and surrounding themselves with a solemn 
environment which effectually prevented every breath of 
another mental atmosphere from reaching, they would 
have said from contaminating their child. 

Such an experience was an oppression ; she had 
never desired to repeat it ; had she been asked now, she 
would probably have declined to cross the Channel ; she 
would have suggested some quiet spot, — Willie took 
counsel with nobody and wrote to the “ Hotel Bristol ”. 

And the event justified his cunning. Olivia was a 
poor traveller, and even with everything made easy for 
her, could hardly believe that she was safely reposing 
on the sofa in her own bedroom, with Laurette unpack- 
ing, and all her little comforts appearing like magic on 
every side, at six o’clock on the evening of the day she 
started. 

She had been fearful and relieved by turns ; every 
change had been a bugbear, and when accomplished a 
feat. 

Willie had been wonderful ; Laurette invaluable : 
she was meek and grateful to both ; she was not at all 
tired and would go down to dinner ; she watched Laur- 
ette laying out her dinner dress with interest. 

“ Madam will see that I have filled up the neck and 
sleeves ; ” the dress was brought for inspection — “ there 
20 


3o6 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

was so little time, but I knew what Madam would 
require, and this will be convenahle for to-night,’ quoth 
Laurette, proudly. Enfin, when Madam desires a 
change, another will be ready. In Paris I look about 
me, I see what is a la mode, and if necessaire I run up 
a whole new bodice, light, elegant, all lace, if Madam 
so desires.” 

“ I suppose one always appears in a high dress at 
the table d'hote, Laurette? I know nothing of hotel 
life,” owned Olivia, smiling a little at herself for her 
ignorance. 

“Mafs, oui ; toujours, always.” Laurette shook her 
head decidedly. “ But Madam will look very well, very 
pretty in the high frock ” — and a glance which her 
mistress caught, betrayed what was passing within. 

“Better than in a low-necked one, I daresay, at 
present,” rejoined she, calmly, “ I am too thin ; well, 
never mind,” — and she rose to array herself. 

“ It’s a wonder we got the rooms,” said Willie, 
coming in, “ the hotel is crammed, and I have seen a 
number of nice-looking people about. If you’re ready, 
we’ll go down, dear. I have inspected our table ; it 
is at the far end, so if we are early we can watch the 
rest come in.” 

By-and-by it was, “ I say, this is amusing, isn’t it ? 
Look at that party over there ; not English, whatever 
they are — queer-looking fellows, the men ; I wish we 
were near enough to hear what language they are talk- 
ing” — then, “ Good Heavens, what a gigantic female, 
and trotting out a little bit of a husband — we’ll suppose 
he’s a husband for the sake of argument — though you 
know, Olivia,” profoundly, “you know one does meet 
shady characters abroad. I shouldn’t advise you to 
look over yonder, for instance” — and so on, and so on. 

Despite herself Olivia found the dinner entertaining. 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 307 

And she went early to bed and had a good night’s 
rest. Indeed, she slept so profoundly that when the 
morning sun shone into her eyes — for she had begged to 
have the window left open — she could not think for a 
full minute where she was. She felt fresher and better 
than she had done for weeks. 

A brilliant October day had dawned, and all the gay 
sounds of the gayest city in the world broke upon her 
ears. “ Paris is the place, isn’t it?” said Willie, kissing 
her. 

“Now for the shops and the streets,” announced 
he, after breakfast; “we’ll just stroll and stare this 
morning ; and have a drive in the Bois in the afternoon. 
We won’t do sight-seeing till we feel inclined for it ; so 
on with your hat, and let’s get out into the sun, Olivia.” 

He had been out himself already and brought her 
a bunch of violets. “We must get some flowers for 
the sitting-room,” he said, as they turned into the 
Avenue de I’Opera — “and I have been inquiring about 
opera tickets ; but I waited to see whether you would 
go to-night, or wait a bit ? ” 

“ I think I will wait, Willie.” She was hardly 
ready for opera tickets yet. 

But she walked with him, and drove with him, and 
sat with him under' the trees, admiring their blaze of 
autumn foliage against the deep blue sky overhead, and 
the varied kaleidoscope of the ever-moving throngs 
below, — noting this and that which he pointed out to 
her, — a gentle, docile companion whose only fault, if fault 
it could be deemed, lay in a certain dreamy incapacity 
to originate anything for herself, or devise any methods 
of making the pleasant hours pass more pleasantly. 
It was all what Willie wished and what Willie settled 
for which she had a smile and ready acquiescence. 

Sometimes they took boat, and the gliding up and 
* 


20 


3o8 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

down the beautiful river seemed to suit Olivia better 
than anything. Willie would be anxious as the little 
steamer drew near their point of embarkation, lest a 
comfortable seat might not be available, but Olivia 
patiently let others pass in before her, and thought she 
did very well wherever she found room. 

She admired the shadows of the trees upon the glassy 
waters, in particular a poplar promontory near St. Cloud, 
whose tall spires were reflected down to the minutest 
leaf. “ How beautiful ! — how beautiful ! ” she sighed 
repeatedly, and begged to return that way, confident 
that it would not be too late or cold, as her husband 
feared. “The days are so warm,” she urged, “that it 
will not matter even if the sun is down.” 

Fontainebleau delighted her ; here was a garden after 
her own heart ; a garden on the edge of a forest, with 
endless vistas down which imagination might rove from 
point to point. Even its artificiality, Olivia averred, did 
not seem out of place ; it was a frankly artificial life that 
was wont to be led there. The statues and fountains? 
She would not have had them in an English parterre, 
but here they seemed only in keeping ; no, she did not 
mind them at all. 

And how wonderful, how wonderful were those brilli- 
ant, gorgeous tints upon the woods ; never had she seen 
or imagined such colouring, such splendour. 

“ Why, aye, we are lucky in having such a fine 
autumn,” observed Willie to this; “a fellow told me 
to-day that he could only compare the trees at Fontaine- 
bleau to those in Maine — he was an American, and, of 
course, Maine is their show county. He said the red 
maple in Maine was a sight for the gods.” 

“But have they a sky for the gods, too?” cried 
Olivia. “ Even that ” — pointing to the glowing land- 
scape — “ would not be what it is beneath any other sky.” 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 309 

She was so enthusiastic that day that his spirits rose 
to a high pitch, and then — he never knew exactly how 
it transpired, but perhaps the truth was there had been 
this danger all along — a reaction set in. 

Olivia, unaccustomed to the exertion and fatigue of 
so much going about under novel conditions, uprooted 
perchance too abruptly from the familiar lines of her 
home life, was physically overstrained, and all she had 
striven to hide from herself hitherto, became apparent. 

She had simply been under a narcotic, she was not 
really cured of her heart-wound. 

“ Oh, don’t you care to go out again ? ” Willie 
paused in giving an order for the carriage they had just 
stepped out of, to return at a later hour. “ Oh, very 
well ; shall we do some churches ? Or ” 

“ Not churches to-day, please, Willie.” 

“All right. I’m no great hand at churches myself. 
What about the Louvre ? — but we’ve been to that 
beastly Louvre ” 

“ Oh, yes, we have done our duty by the Louvre, 
Willie.” 

He thought a minute. “ Would it be a good day 
for ” 

“ Not a good day for anything, if you ask me, dear,” — 
she could not keep a faint impatience from entering 
into her tone. “ I don’t feel inclined for — forgoing out 
again. Doyowgo,” — and he was dismissed hurriedly. 

Next day it was a repetition of the same; she was 
listless, her footsteps dragged, she was for ever wanting 
to sit down if walking — if driving, she could think of 
nowhere to drive to. 

He tried to get her to shop. “You know it’s a 
chance, Olivia, and I’ve seen some of the finest furs to- 
day I ever set eyes on. What ? You don’t need furs ? 
Oh, nonsense, what woman doesn’t need a sable coat if 


310 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

her husband offers it her? Come along, I’ve seen the 
very coat for you,” and when he saw her in it his eye 
glistened. 

“ But, dear Willie, this is Russian sable, only fit for 
a princess.” 

“ Is it ? Glad to hear it. It is good enough for you, 
then.” 

“But, Willie ” and she whispered again in his ear. 

“ All right — all right,” said he, aloud. “ Never you 
mind that. That’s my affair,” and he wrote a cheque 
in the corner, and gave the home address. 

Then he turned to her again. “ You needn’t be 
bothered with it here, but you’ll be glad enough to find 
it hanging in your wardrobe when the first cold days 
begin. Money is never thrown away on furs,” added he, 
cheerfully ; “ and if you take my advice,” with an after- 
thought, “you’ll have a muff to match.” 

She assured him, however, that she already had a 
muff to match and a sable-trimmed hat to boot — and as 
he could think of nothing else at the moment, he was 
obliged to follow her out. But he looked like a man 
who had received rather than spent a thousand pounds, 
for Olivia, divining his feelings, set herself resolutely to 
gratify them, affecting the utmost pride in her new 
possession, and vowing she would be the envy of every 
friend she possessed. “ Lady Fanny will think me 
frightfully extravagant, Willie.” 

“ Aye, won’t she ? ” quoth he, delighted. 

And then this too passed, and the old lassitude, the 
old apathy crept back ; he even thought her paler and 
thinner than before. 

“ Olivia, it’s no use, you must see a doctor.” 

Olivia, startled by the abrupt, authoritative tone, 
dropped the book in her hand, and the hand dropped 
after it. 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 31 1 

There, you see,” persevered Willie, picking up the 
book, “ that shows ; that shows your nerves are all gone 
to fiddlestrings. You jumped just now as if a cannon- 
ball had gone off at your ear.” 

“You — you startled me so. Any one would have 
jumped.” 

“ See a doctor you must and shall.” 

And to humour him she did, with what result may 
be guessed. 

“ Pm better satisfied now,” quoth Willie, however, 
“ for it’s everything to know there’s nothing serious. I 
had it out with him, and insisted on a straight answer. 
If it hadn’t been a satisfactory one, I should have kept 
it to myself. But it was, absolutely. So now you’ll 
obey orders and take your medicines regularly ; and if 
there’s anything else ” 

“Willie!” 

He listened. 

It was dusk, and the lights were not lit within. He 
was sitting by the open window, and Olivia, who had 
been out of the room, and glided noiselessly in again, 
now leaned over the back of his chair. As she did not 
proceed, he turned and looked up at her, but she shrank 
a little, and he could not see her face. 

“ What is it, dear? ” he said, softly. 

“ I — I want to say something, Willie.” 

“ Yes, dear 1 ” 

“ It was useless to send for that doctor, he could do 
me no good. He knew that, and only prescribed a 
tonic because he had to do something. Of course I’ll 
take it ; I have sent Laurette out to have it made up 
now — and perhaps it will help me to — to she 

faltered and stopped. 

“To pick up your strength. Just what he said,” 
nodded Willie, hopefully; “and then, when you feel 


312 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


stronger, you’ll be more able to ’* then he, too, 

paused, as though on dangerous ground. 

“But, Willie, I want to say something now — at 

once — while I can. It is no doctor that I need ” 

he could feel her trembling so much that he longed, oh, 
how he longed to take her in his arms and say, “ Hush ; 
be still ; be at peace,” but led by a wondrous instinct 
he forbore ; it was not this she needed. 

“Are you listening, Willie?” the voice in his ear 
went on. 

Then he put his hand upon her hand, but he did not 
look round. 

“ I am not very happy,” said Olivia brokenly ; “ I 
am going through — a trouble. ... It is that which 
makes me hot and wakeful at night, and baffles all your 
kind, kind efforts by day. . . . Willie — oh, you can’t 
think how I long to tell you all — and I am going to do 
it — I am — I am — only not just yet. . . . Very soon, 
Willie; quite soon — only give me a little time. You 
are so dear, so good, and I — I love you as I have never 
done before — can you bear to wait a little longer ? . . . 
You are always so patient with me, shall I not wear out 
your patience ? . . . I had not meant to say so much, 
because I have no right to vex you and yet keep from 
you ” she could articulate no more. 

“ You have the right because I give it you, my 
darling. I would not force one syllable from your dear 
lips ; it is enough that you have told me you are suffering, 
and that I need no longer pretend, as I have pretended, 
not to see it.” 

“ You have — seen it — Willie ? ” 

“ And dared not speak. But now,” he bent over 
her, for she had slipped round, and was on the ground 
beside him, clinging to the arm of his chair. 

“ Now,” he whispered, “ shall I ? ” 


THE SPARK TO THE GUNPOWDER 313 

“ Oh, no — nOy' a cry escaped. “ Oh, Willie, I 
can’t — I can’t. Indeed, indeed, Willie ” — and she laid 
her head upon his knee and wept, half-uttered words 
choking in her throat. 

“Olivia?” He had thought awhile, deliberating 
within himself whether despite her entreaties it would 
not be w'ell for him to probe the hidden wound to its 
depth, but her convulsive sobbing shook her poor attenu- 
ated frame so cruelly that he felt it must be arrested 
at any cost. 

Accordingly, “ Olivia ? ” he murmured, and the arm 
which encircled her pressed itself more closely. “ It’s all 
right, you know. You hear, darling? It’s — it’s all right.” 
With what exquisite tenderness the familiar common- 
place was fraught, with what balm it fell upon her ear 1 

“ I have known there was something wrong for a long 
time past, almost ever since I came home from Scotland,” 
proceeded Willie, stroking her head softly; “ and don’t 
be angry with me, dearest, I have guessed what it was.” 
He drew a breath, and continued in the same gentle 
undertone : “ I knew you’d, tell me about it some time ; 
and I could wait — and I can wait. What ? ” he felt 
her wet cheek upon his hand, and knew her lips were 
moving — “never mind, let me speak; my darling need 
not say a word, for she knows, she knows I understand. 
I have understood all along. Things hadn’t worked 
out exactly right, and she was feeling ” 

“ — Oh, so mivserable, so miserable, Willie.” 

“ My poor darling; and I couldn’t help her, though 
I did my best. But it’s past,” he stopped and resumed 
emphatically, “ if s past. And she doesn’t fear me now, 
she only trusts me ” 

“ And loves you — loves you.” 

“ God knows I’m a poor sort of chap for a woman 
like you to love ” 


314 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 


“ No — no.” 

“ But in future we’ll be more to each other — yes, 
even you will be more to me, though I used to think 
that couldn’t be, but I know better now — than you have 
ever been. Only you must be brave and strong — oh, 
don’t cry so, dear one, it weakens you and you are so 
weak already; just come here ” — he lifted her and laid 
her on his breast — “ see, I am content,” he whispered, 
“ and some day you will be content too.” And even as 
he spoke a strange deep peace filled the bosom which 
heaved upon his own. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON. 

The Seafords were still away when Kitty Thatcher 
returned home towards the middle of October, by which 
fact when announced she felt aggrieved and defrauded. 

Olivia was indeed no longer all in all with her, but 
Olivia’s approbation and support at this crisis had been 
reckoned upon and was of importance, — the truth being 
that the young lady’s engagement had not been received 
with any particular show of enthusiasm by her relations 
and friends outside the little coterie at Scarborough. 

There she had been queen of the hour, and enjoyed 
to the full the sweets of consequence and of supposed 
envy, — but the outer world as typified by the members 
of her own family and its various branches, had been 
annoyingly cool. 

There had been a great deal of surprise but not 
exactly agreeable surprise manifested. Kindly as her 
parents had written, she had missed something from 
their letters ; and in reply to her eager inquiries as to 
how this one and that one had taken the news. Lady 
Fanny had observed a discreet silence, only remarking 
that the inquirer should hear all there was to hear on 
her return home. 

This was hardly what Kitty had expected, and per- 
haps it hastened the day of reunion ; nor when her first 
conference was over, was the little lady better satisfied. 
315 


3i6 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

‘‘ I can’t see what Uncle Robert can object to,” 
argued she, indignantly; “did you tell him — what did 
you tell him, mother? What did you say? Doesn’t 
he know who Philip is? I should have thought he 
would not have considered me good enough for him. 
That was how they felt at Scarborough.” 

“ Very likely, my dear. Relations look on these 
matters in a different light.” 

“But what did he say?” persisted Kitty, obstin- 
ately. 

“ Your uncle seemed rather surprised that your 
father and I should have given our consent.” 

“ Mother ! ” 

“ You asked me to tell you the truth, Kitty.” 

“But how? Why? How extraordinary! How 
ridiculous 1 ” Kitty’s cheeks burned. “ What reason 
does Uncle Robert give for being so absurd? Doesn’t 
he know who Philip is? ” she reiterated. 

“ That is just what your uncle says he does not 
know, and what we were not able to tell him,” said 
Lady Fanny, quietly. “ Every one knows what Mr. 
Ambrose is, but not who. Perhaps you can tell us this 
last ? Perhaps he has enlightened you, though he has 
not seen fit to — oh, I did not mean to hurt you, dear 
child, but really we are quite in the dark as to Philip’s 
(the word came out with reluctant hesitation) antece- 
dents ; and it is natural that we, and your other rela- 
tions, should wish to know something of them. Has he 
ever spoken to you ? ” she paused. 

He had not, and Kitty had never asked him. Why 
should she, she demanded defiantly? He was enough 
in himself; it was himself she was marrying, not his 
sisters and his cousins and his aunts — and she laughed 
scoffingly as she quoted the catchword. 

“ Quite so. And it is because we are satisfied that 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


317 


there is nothing to which we can take reasonable objec- 
tion in Philip Ambrose himself ” But Lady Fanny 

got no farther. 

“ Nothing you can take objection to ! ” 

Kitty’s eyes widened. 

“ Mother, aren’t you pleased and proud and de- 
lighted ? ” 

“ Not altogether,” said Lady Fanny, dryly. 

Kitty tried her father. 

Wasn’t it wonderful that a man like Philip should 
think of poor little me — a man that any one might be glad 
to marry?” began she, getting him alone. “Mother 
doesn’t seem to see it — but you do, don’t you, father? 
I knew how you felt when he came here in the summer ; 
you said we were honoured by his caring to come. You 
little thought then he would care for more than that.” 

“Aye, indeed. I little thought it,” — but the colonel’s 
tone was not exultant. 

“ I was afraid to look at him or to speak to him at 
first,” continued Kitty, with pleased reminiscence; 
“ and as for being alone with him — although I got over 
that after we walked that day to The Willow House, 
and I found he felt as I did about Olivia. We always 
had something to talk about after that.” 

“ Humph ! ” The colonel looked at her, and muttered 
beneath his breath. 

“ You thought he admired Olivia,” ran on Kitty, 
bantering him ; “ you were quite sniffy about it the 
night the Seafords dined here, and trotted off next day 
to catch Philip flirting, as you thought, in Olivia’s 
garden. I knew what took you there, though you 
thought I didn’t. And I laughed to myself ; because 
then I never dreamed that Philip could flirt with any- 
body; I thought of him as far too grand and— and 
altogether. But I told him one day at Scarborough 


3i8 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

that if I had known him then as I do now, I shouldn’t 
have been so keen to establish him at Olivia’s back-door.” 

You did ? You said that ? That was rather a 
strange thing to say, child.” (“And a damned stupid 
thing too,” muttered the colonel to himself.) 

Kitty, however, threw up her chin. “ Oh, Philip 
doesn’t mind ; he lets me say whatever I like to him. 

Only once he looked a little put out ” she paused, 

reflecting. 

“ About Olivia ? ” 

“ I don’t think he cares so very much for Olivia 
now; not so very much; ” replied Kitty, confidentially. 
“ You know, father, yow don’t, and a great many people 
don’t. I am as fond of her as ever, but I can see what 
Philip means. She is — she does — she does think a 
good deal of herself.” 

“ Ha-ha-ha ! You have found that out at last, 
have you ? I wondered how long it would take. So the 
divinity has had to come off her pedestal at last? ” the 
colonel chuckled provokingly. “ Well now,” proceeded 
he, composing himself, “now I am just beginning to 
recognise Olivia Seaford’s merits. I don’t think she is 
anything like as stuck-up and unneighbourly as I used 
to find her. Or else it is she who has improved. She 
has been over here a good deal while you were away, 
and both your mother and I have noticed the change. 
Her whole air and manner, even her face is different. 
She always had a sweet smile, a wonderfully sweet 
smile — when she let you see it, — but hang it all, she 
hardly ever did let you ; whereas now — you ask your 
mother, she’ll tell you what we have both been agreed 
upon of late aboui. Olivia.” 

“ Mother always liked her. It was you ” 

“Well, well,” said the colonel, testily. He did not 
care to be reminded of what he was willing to forget. 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


319 


After a pause he recommenced: “So your swain 
picks holes in other quarters ? Is that by way of extol- 
ling your attractions, Miss Kit? Certainly no two 
good-looking girh, could be less like each other than you 
and Olivia Seaford.” 

“ Do you call Olivia a girl ? ” Kitty’s eyebrows went 
up. She and the Rushingtons and the various other 
damsels of their set whose ages ranged from seventeen 
to twenty were “ Girls ” — they would not recognise by 
this term a married woman several years senior to all. 
“A girl?” repeated she, incredulously. 

Colonel Thatcher threw her a contemptuous glance. 

“ J call her a girl, I call you a child — and rather a 
silly child. Six months ago you were in the schoolroom, 
without a thought beyond French verbs and German 
exercises. Hold hard : I daresay — I daresay,” his voice 
rising above hers — “ anyway you weren’t supposed to have 
a thought, and you must certainly have had no know- 
ledge. You go away for a few visits, you meet a few 
people, you pick up a sweetheart — and back you come 
ready to teach us all our P’s and Q’s. Olivia Seaford 
is a girl — a young, beautiful girl — not by any means a 
perfect girl, but there’s fine material to work upon — 
(as you had once the wit to see, my lass, however you 
may turn round now) — and, by George, even as she is 
now. I’ll wager there’s not one of those little twopenny- 
halfpenny things you have been runningabout with lately, 
who could hold a candle to her. What she’ll be by-and- 
by — but I’m talking like your mother; and after all, I 
have no business to talk, for I always did Mrs. Seaford 
injustice, and I’m not above owning it.” 

“Anyhow Philip likes me best,” retorted Kitty, a 
shade disconcerted ; “ and it’s rather mean of you, 
father, to date up and accuse me of turning round just 
because yow have ! I have not turned one bit. All I said 


320 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

was that Philip was not so taken with Olivia as we 
thought he was. We thought he admired her so awfully 
— whereas now he seems to have forgotten all about 
her. He hardly ever mentions her name.” 

“You said he — I forget what, but I gathered he ran 
her down.” 

This, however, Kitty would not allow. Already she 
repented of the slip which had created an unfavour- 
able impression of her fiance, whom it was her present 
object to exalt by every means in her power — and she 
now made a determined effort to eat her words. 

Ambrose had never belittled Olivia ; she was sure 
he still thought Olivia a remarkable woman ; it was only 
that he — that she — that they had one and all exagger- 
ated the estimation in which he held her, — and having 
disposed, of the theme, she returned to Philip himself. 

But she did not get much satisfaction out of her 
father on this head. The colonel was cautious and he 
was kind ; he dared say Kitty knew her own mind, and 
not being a bookish man himself, he was probably mis- 
taken in thinking bookish men were not the natural 
husbands for chits of eighteen who made no pretentions 
to being clever. 

He hoped she would read up a bit, and not show 
herself an ignorant little puss among the learned folks 
at Oxford. There were big dogs there, she must remem- 
ber, — and he pinched her ear and patted her shoulder, 
and presently strolled away, convinced that he had de- 
livered himself of a proper paternal admonition which 
might or might not bear fruit, but which had at any rate 
saved him from showing his dislike of a marriage which 
it was obvious he was powerless to prevent. 

Clever or not, Kitty was, however, quick enough to 
perceive how the land lay, and her desire for Olivia’s 
countenance and Olivia’s sympathy grew in consequence. 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


321 


Olivia would be on her side, whoever was not. 
Olivia, who would not stir a foot to meet a personage of 
rank or worldly importance — who had been frankly 
bored by divers of Lady Fanny’s august kindred and 
notably so by her brother Robert, the future earl, of 
whom and of whose opinion they all stood in awe — 
Olivia had hastened to sit at the feet of Philip Ambrose. 
Why then was she not here now to lift up her voice and 
proclaim her partisanship? Why was The Willow 
House empty just when it was most needed as a 
bulwark ? 

“ Does Olivia know I am back ? ” queried Kitty one 
day. 

Yes, Lady Fanny believed Olivia did. She knew at 
any rate that Kitty was expected. 

“ Well, I think she needn’t stay away then ; it isn’t 
very kind of her ; ” and the little girl spoke complain- 
ingly. “ I thought she would have taken more interest 
in Philip and me.” 

And shortened her holiday on your account ? Not 
very reasonable that, my little Kitty. Philip and you 
may very well be content with each other ; you can’t 
expect to influence the movements of your friends.” 

‘‘ Olivia knows how dull it is here in November. If 
Philip could come oftener I shouldn’t mind so much ; 
but he says he can’t, and there isn’t a soul to talk to ” 
— then suddenly Kitty caught back her words and threw 
her arms about her mother. “ You know I didn’t mean 
that, darling ; and if you would like Philip a little better, 
and care a little more to talk with me about him, I 
shouldn’t want Olivia. But you see, she — she just 
feels as I do.” 

“ Are you quite sure she does ? ” It seemed to Lady 
Fanny that the time had come to give a hint. Has 
she written as if she did ? ” 


21 


322 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

Now the truth was that Olivia’s letter — there had only 
been one — held to have been private, might have been 
read aloud at the street corners ; indeed, it was because 
it was so very moderate, so very well expressed, so 
exactly what propriety and affection dictated, that 
Kitty, who had expected a very riot of rapture (and 
three sheets at least), stowed it away in her pocket at 
the first, and did not produce it for home inspection 
thereafter. 

“ I think, my dear, that is, I fancy you will find 
that however much Olivia Seaford may admire Philip’s 
talents, she does not altogether disagree with some of 
your other well-wishers in her opinion of ” 

“ Of what ? ” But Kitty did not retort with quite 
the fire that might have been expected, and Lady 
Fanny took courage. 

“One does look upon a man in a different light 
when it becomes a question of marriage. Since you 
really think you can be happy with Philip Ambrose, 
and since he — and at his age he ought to know — con- 
siders he can make you so ” 

“ Oh, I don’t know that he thinks about thaty it is 
for me to make him happy ; and, mother, I ought to be 
proud and willing — you always say the wife should study 
the husband’s wishes.” 

“ Yes, yes, my child, yes.” 

“ So that if Philip — I know Philip is rather arbitrary, 
but I think father needn’t have talked of his ‘ Knock-me- 
down manner, and before the children too. I wish you 
and father liked him better,” murmured Kitty, plain- 
tively. 

“You shall teach us, dear.” Now that the thing 
was done. Lady Fanny was resolute to see it in a cheer- 
ful light. “ And I only spoke of this,” she added, “ be- 
cause I think Olivia, much as she was attracted by Philip, 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


323 


did feel that there was an — an incongruity — that, in 
short, he was not the best possible husband for you. I 
don’t want you to be disappointed when you and Olivia 
meet, and they may return any day now.” 

“ I don’t care who is disappointed, I shall stick to 
Philip. And I don’t believe, and I can’t believe, that 
Olivia ever said that about an incongruity.” 

“ Kitty ! Did I say Olivia ? ” — but Kitty had turned 
away, and after a minute’s thought, her mother was glad 
that she had done so. 

“ Has she the least idea that those two were talked 
about in the summer?” queried the colonel one day, 
when alone with his wife. “ Kitty seems so monstrous 
sure that Olivia will be delighted with the marriage, 
whereas — oh, I am not saying there was anything more 
than talk, but there’s no doubt they laid themselves 
open to that ; and my belief is that that poor thing was 
shocked when she found how far she’d gone — in the way 
of braving conventionality, that’s all I mean,” scenting 
protest, “ and that she would be thankful to see and 
hear no more of Philip Ambrose. I can’t help thinking 
that, though you know I have given up the rest as you 
bid me.” 

“ And I fancy you are right, John.” 

Somewhat to his surprise the calm rejoinder fell 
readily from Lady Fanny’s lips ; “I am so glad you 
take a more rational view of the matter now,” proceeded 
she, “ that has been my feeling all along. And it is an 
additional reason for my wishing this hasty and I must 
call it ill-judged engagement had never taken place, 
that it will bring unpleasantness to Olivia from every 
point of view.” 

“ It will that, with a vengeance. It has already 
broken Kitty’s allegiance— the little minx; I could 
scarcely believe my ears when she started airing her 
21 * 


324 THE ENLIGHTENxMENT OF OLIVIA 


opinions, criticising in the coolest manner the friend 
whose very name used to make her stand up upon her 
tail — and that but the other day ! And even if Olivia 
can stand this — and it’s odds but she’ll take it philo- 
sophically — there’s the nuisance of having the change due 
to Ambrose. You think it is due to Ambrose, don’t you ? ” 
Not wilfully. But he has concentrated Kitty’s 
whole warm-hearted little being upon himself, and she 
never could take in more than one person at a time.” 
Lady Fanny smiled and then sighed. ‘‘ I should not 
have minded, if only that person had been ” 

“ Any other living soul than that long-necked, long- 
jawed, hectoring, domineering prig, confound him ! 
Confound the whole damned ” 

The door opened. 

“What’s father stamping about for?” cried innocent 
Kitty, coming in — but when she beheld the two em- 
barrassed countenances — “ don’t tell me, don’t tell me,” 
she cried afresh, and ran out again. 

The colonel advanced his grey moustache almost to 
his wife’s ear. 

“ Do you think she heard ? ” 

“She guessed.” The whisper came back like his 
own, and a small, hot tear forced its way from the 
speaker’s downcast lids and trickled over her cheek. 
It was not only Olivia Seaford who had a heavy heart 
in those days. 

And the vei*y next evening came word that the 
Seafords had arrived. 

“ You will be going over to The Willow House early, 
I suppose?” Breakfast over. Lady Fanny addressed 
her daughter in an easy tone. “ Pray give Olivia 
my love, and tell her the chrysanthemums promise to 
be quite a success — those chrysanthemums I told you 
about ; Olivia took some pains about them.” 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


325 


But when Kitty returned she had forgotten all about 
the chrysanthemums, and she was panting from the 
speed at which she had hastened home. 

“ Mother, what has Olivia been doing to herself? ” 

“Doing to herself?” Lad}^ Fanny paused with an 
inquiring look. 

“ She looks so — strange — so — changed. So fearfully 
thin and white and — what is it?^' Kitty seized her 
mother’s arm, compelling a reply. “ Mother, did you 
know? Did she look like that before she went ?” 

“ She certainly looked ill, my dear ; that was partly 
why they went. But I am concerned to hear her trip 
has not benefited her; though it is possible that the 
journey — remember she is just off her journey — and 
may have been upset by it. Had they a bad cross- 
ing?” 

“ I didn’t ask. But do you think — oh, but it can’t 
only be that. Olivia would have said, if it were. And 
she made no excuse ; she was by way of being quite 
lively and expecting me, and — and all the time I could 
do nothing but look at her.” 

“ Indeed I am sorry to hear such a poor report. I 
hoped for better news.” 

“ You might have told me. I went in without an 
idea of anything wrong and I must have shown — she 
must have seen ” 

“Oh, I hope not, Kitty.” 

“ How could I help it ? I was quite frightened, and 
you had never said anything. If you had told me she 
was like this ” 

“ But indeed she was not ; not when — stop, let me 
think; I did not see Olivia just before she started. 
She came over with her husband on the Friday — the 
Friday we heard of your engagement, and I announced 
it to them— but after that I never saw them again, for 


326 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

they left on the Monday following. We had a note 
from Willie saying he was carrying his wife off rather 
abruptly, as she was so hard to move that she. would 
not go at all if he did not use force — or some little jest 
of the kind. He did not put it on her health. Per- 
haps you will find that when she has recovered from her 
fatigue she will look more herself? Olivia is a person 
who goes up and down very rapidly, and she used to be 
considered delicate — but we always thought her stronger 
than she gave herself credit for” — and Lady Fanny 
rambled on, long after Kitty had ceased to listen. She 
longed and yet shrank from hearing what took place at 
the interview. 

“We talked about Philip, of course.” It was Kitty 
who at last broached the subject uppermost in both 
minds — and her mother who was still discanting on 
health tactics in a vague, discursive fashion ceased on 
the instant. 

“ Olivia said I ought to be the chief talker — and so 
I was. I told her all about it ; and that he was coming 
here next week, and we should call on her together. I 
said he would expect to be congratulated, though I was 
sure she thought it was I who ought to be congratu- 
lated.” 

“What did Olivia say to that?” Lady Fanny 
affected to be seeking something in her workbox, and 
put the question in a carefully quiet voice. 

“ Oh, I don’t know,” said Kitty. 

“Don’t know?” Her mother looked up, and this 
time her accents had a genuine ring. “ Don’t know, my 
dear? I suppose she said something? But perhaps 
she does consider ” 

“ I don’t know what she considers ; she always put 
me off with questions and jokes. She teased me as 
father does about not being ‘ Learned ’ and offered to 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


327 


lend me books— but, mother, Philip doesn’t care if I read 
books or not. I asked him, and he said that wasn’t 
what a^man wanted in a wife. I told Olivia so.” 

‘‘Well?” 

“ She said she knew Mr. Ambrose’s opinion on that 
point. She spoke rather coldly, as if — you know Olivia 
does think a good deal of herself and her cleverness — 
and I couldn’t help wondering if Philip had been rude 
to her? ” 

Lady Fanny was silent. 

“Anyway I shall take him over,” reflected Kitty, 
aloud ; “ and I thought perhaps we might have a dinner- 
party ” 

“ Oh, not another dinner-party. No, really I cannot 
— I could not ; the — the last was not so very successful, 
Kitty.” 

“ But this would be quite different. It is funny to 
think how different it would be. Philip would hardly 
bestow a glance on me that night, and now ” 

“ I will not have it.” Goaded to desperation, the un- 
fortunate Lady Fanny spoke up sharply, and then 
softened as she invariably did towards her poor little 
foolish Kitty at this crisis. “ Forgive me, dear, I did not 
mean to vex you. But you must be content without our 
entertaining Philip otherwise than as a family party. 
You see for yourself that the Seafords and he are not 
quite so friendly as they have been.” 

“ Mother, I never said so, I never thought so. Why 
will you and father always insist on that, when it was 
merely that we were mistaken in thinking they were 
more friendly than they were? When Philip comes 
you will see. You will see that he will want to go over 
there — with me, of course — and will be glad to meet 
Olivia here, and we shall all be as merry as possible 
together. Only that I shall be Philip’s one this time ; ” 


328 THE ENLIGPITENMENT OF OLIVIA 

and she laughed gleefully. Already she had forgotten 
all about Olivia s altered looks. 

It was Ambrose who was the next to speak of them. 

He had agreed with outward alacrity and some 
inward emotion of another kind, to accompany his fianc6e 
on the call she had so much at heart ; but all her prattle 
on the way to The Willow House failed to silence 
other voices which were inconveniently audible to his 
inward ear, as he recognised every familiar, too familiar, 
landmark. 

Hitherto he had found an excuse for always walking 
in another direction during his brief visit to the 
Thatchers ; but now that Olivia was again at home, he 
had no desire to delay the moments for which he was 
now and again half disposed to consider he was paying 
a big price. He told himself that it was not all beer 
and skittles being an engaged man. He flourished his 
engagement about, but — for one thing he wished he 
had not to walk out with Kitty. 

At Scarborough, where the pair were the cynosure of 
all eyes, this was all very well — but in country lanes 
which afforded nothing to see or to comment upon, and 
which he was obliged to traverse slowly to suit her pace, 
the case was different. Often he was silent half the time, 
and this possibly stood him in good stead now — for they 
reached the Seafords’ door ere he had emitted half a 
dozen utterances, and yet she noticed nothing amiss. 

Mentally he despised her for not noticing. It might 
be a relief to have an obtuse companion at the moment, 
but an obtuse companion for life ! Kitty would never 
know when he was anxious, dejected, heavy-spirited — 
Olivia Seaford had reflected every passing mood. 

If he were sensitive on any given point, would that 
point be kept out of view by Kitty ? To Olivia it simply 
did not exist. 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


329 


On the other hand, how exquisitely she had under- 
stood the precise though undefined item which most 
contributed to some sense of delight — he had never 
needed to tell her what it was, often he could not have 
told, but their spirits were so in touch that thought to 
thought passed spontaneously and involuntarily. 

All of this had been carefully kept out of sight by 
Ambrose ever since he had resolved on his present 
course of action — but to-day the dreary sky and moaning 
wind of a November afternoon were not in greater con- 
trast to the glorious sunshine of August with the land- 
rail’s note chirruping from every loaded cornfield, than 
was his present lugubrious frame of mind to the joyous 
one of that bygone period. 

They entered the hall, the spacious, softly-carpeted, 
fire-warmed hall. 

It was as a cool and shady place that Ambrose remem- 
bered it — a place where he occasionally took refuge if 
the heat were great outside, and banks of flowers at that 
time concealed the hearth where now huge logs of wood 
sparkled and flamed, — but there was still the same air of 
luxury and repose, the same subtle fragrance, the same 
suggestion of her presiding and adorning presence. 

“Aren't you coming?” said Kitty, looking round. 
He was standing still, permitting her to go in alone, 
but now he hurried forward and all but pressed into the 
room before her. In truth he hardly knew what he 
was doing. 

It was all a dream — and as a dream Ambrose looked 
back upon it when once more the two emerged into the 
dank and chill November twilight. 

He shivered ; and if he had longed to be alone on 
his way thither, how much more did he fret and chafe 
at the “ Senseless gabble ” (ah ! poor Kitty) which now 
tormented his ears. 


330 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“Yes — yes — certainly — yes;” the mechanical re- 
sponse grew suspiciously monotonous, and still she 
held on ; he wondered if she would ever stop, would 
ever cease to find something new and unfortunate to 
say? 

One thing alone stood out clear to his own vision ; 
Olivia was not the Olivia he had left two months 
before; not the Olivia of whom he had been think- 
ing in the interval — and no one had remarked upon 
this change nor prepared him for it. Suddenly he 
roused himself. 

“ Mrs. Seaford looks ill. Have none of you noticed 
that she looks ill ? ” 

“ Indeed, we have ; but to-day she looked better than 
usual,” there was no alteration of tone, no conscious- 
ness on Kitty’s part elicited by the sharp demand ; she 
ran on smoothly : “ When Olivia first came back from 
Paris she looked dreadful'' 

“ And you never told me ! ” 

“ Told you? ” 

In spite of herself Kitty turned a pair of astonished 
eyes upon the speaker, who continued unabashed ; — 

“ She is a mere shadow of her former self, she who 
was the very picture of health — not of robust health, but 
of something infinitely more bewitching. Her beauty 
was of a higher order,” continued he in a vehement 
undertone and as though talking only to himself — 
“she was ethereal, exquisite — and now it is gone — 
gone ; ” and he hurried along through the gathering 
darkness, unconscious that his companion had dropped 
behind. For the first time Kitty experienced a pang 
of jealousy. 

“ I’m glad, at any rate, that he has the sense not to 
press for a speedy marriage,” remarked Colonel Thatcher, 
having seen his guest off the next day. “ He is none of 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


331 


your boiling hot lovers, all lire and fury for the wedding- 
day. I asked him what his ideas were, and he muttered 
something about the spring. I was pleased enough, I 
can tell you.” 

“ It seems that the winter is a very busy time at 
Oxford,” replied Lady Fanny. “ Philip seems to have 
explained it to Kitty’s satisfaction.” 

“ He explained it to mine — or, rather, I needed no 
explanation — I was so delighted that I made no pretence 
about it. Of course it passed that we didn’t like losing 
Kitty.” 

“ I am surprised that she is content, however,” re- 
commenced the colonel, after a pause ; “ I thought she 
had been already at you about her finery. Surely there 
was a talk of Christmas, when she first came home ? ” 

“ It must either be at Christmas or at Easter, you 
know, John. An Oxford don cannot get away during 
terms.” 

“ That means we shall have to have him coming and 
going all the winter through,” reflected he, ruefully. 
“ Plague on it, I didn’t think of that. However, he’s off 
for the present ; that’s one thing.” 

“ But he comes back next week.” 

The colonel stopped as he was leaving the room. 

“What? Comes back? Next week! You don’t 
say next week? Nonsense, you can’t mean next 
week? ” 

“ I am afraid I do. He told Kitty so, at least. He 
did not say it to me.” 

“Only told Kitty?” — the colonel looked relieved, 
“ and said nothing to you ? Then there’s some mistake. 
You may depend upon it there’s some mistake. He 
couldn’t be so deuced ill-bred as to make arrangements 
for coming to your house without having the civility to 
ask if it would be convenient ?” 


332 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

She was silent. 

“ I say he couldn’t,” proceeded the colonel, loudly, 
“ no man could.” 

“Circumstanced as he is, Philip may consider him- 
self a privileged person.” 

“ He may, but I don’t. I don’t care what he considers 
himself ; it’s not for him to consider himself anything. 
Do you mean to tell me that because a man is going to 
marry your daughter, you think he has a right to invade 
your house at any time, whether it suits you or not? 
Do you mean to tell me that ? Then it’s time, 
indeed ” 

“John, be reasonable. Do not work yourself up ” 

“ ril work myself up if I choose. Work myself up, 
indeed,” fumed he, “ I have got to accept this confounded 

marriage, I suppose, but ” he took a turn up and down 

the room and stopped in front of her sofa. “ Lm a brute 
to vent my ill-temper upon you, Fanny — you hate the 
whole thing as much as I do, and it’s a shame to make 
it worse for you than it is already. But it’s no use dis- 
guising our feelings from each other. Let me speak or 
I shall burst. I can’t think how we could ever be taken 
in by Ambrose as we were. There’s scarcely a thing 
he does or says that doesn’t irritate one. The long 
and the short of it is he isn’t a gentleman,” — and bang 
went the colonel’s stick upon the floor. 

Then he took another turn and resumed. “ Now, 
there’s Willie Seaford ; plain City man ; you may catch 
him tripping in his speech, and he doesn’t always know 
what to do with his legs in a drawing-room — but do you 
ever want to tell him so ? — do you ever feel inclined to 
kick him ? I tell you there isn’t a man who knows 
Seaford — knows him much or little — who hasn’t a good 
word for him ; there isn’t one of us who hasn’t the 
kindest feeling for him, — indeed, there are some who 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


333 


think — and I won’t say I don’t myself — that fine woman 
as she is, Seaford’s wife isn’t worthy of her, husband. 
Oh, if I could have had him I ” 

And Lady Fanny made no comment, and in her 
heart echoed “ If I could have had him ! ” 

Let us now see how the individual in such disrepute 
at The Grange felt on his part towards its inmates. If 
Colonel Thatcher experienced a growing inclination to 
kick his future son-in-law, it must be confessed that 
Ambrose had frequently a desire of a similar nature, 
though the kicking in his case was devoid of a precise 
object. 

He would fain have kicked — he already did kick in- 
wardly at all and everything connected with his present 
position. There were times when he alleged — with what 
justice our readers may decide for themselves — that he 
had been run in for it ; that he had not weighed the 
matter on its merits ; and that if Mrs. Hothfield, the 
Rushingtons, and Kitty’s surroundings generally had 
not in a manner hedged him in and shown what was 
expected of him, he would not have been where he now 
was. 

There were times, too, when he muttered that it was 
Olivia Seaford whom he had to thank for getting him 
into such a hole. If he had never met that siren, never 
been caught by her beauty and her charm, he would have 
been a free man to-day. She had entangled him in her 
mesh, and then cast him out wounded and weakened to 
be the prey of smaller fry, one of whom — but at this 
point there would perhaps arise a kindlier emotion to 
check the onslaught. 

Poor little Kitty ! After all, it was not her fault 
that she was so enamoured of his lordly self. She could 
not know to what she owed the handkerchief so lightly 
thrown, so quickly repented of. 


334 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

No, not repented of. It would not do to repent ; 
and once detached from her home belongings, once 
away from the influence of her insufferable parents, she 
would be moulded to his will, and make him a good 
little wife. 

He could not, of course, expect companionship, and 
would certainly receive no assistance from Kitty in- 
tellectually, — but on that head he would be no worse 
off than many of his friends, indeed those who had 
superior wives had often the dowdiest and most re- 
pulsive-looking women to go about with. Kitty's looks, 
and dress, and bright, gay, winning demeanour would 
command admiration anywhere, while her noble con- 
nections ? He was not above reckoning even the surly 
Uncle Robert, who had taken no notice of him what- 
ever, as an asset. 

So that had Olivia Seaford met her former friend 
with conventional smiles and suitable congratulations, 
there is no reason to suppose that he would not have 
responded to them with some measure of the com- 
placency he had once promised himself. Unfortunately 
for his peace of mind where was the gay welcome, the 
frank address which was to be met by an attitude of 
sublime equanimity calculated to keep Mrs. Seaford in 
her place ? 

He had meant to be very much taken up with his 
betrothed; to have all his eyes and ears for her, and 
to be totally devoid of any arriere pensee which might 
be considered a tribute to Olivia. 

Olivia would perhaps refer to the past — that was to 
be expected — but he would show scanty interest in it ; 
indeed, he would affect to have forgotten any little 
events or incidents he might be supposed to remember. 
This also had been carefully thought out, — and now 
there was never an allusion ! 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 335 

In truth, it took all Olivia’s strength, taxed it to its 
utmost to present herself as she did, a gentle-mannered, 
low-voiced hostess, solicitous for the comfort of her 
guests, regretful that she was alone to entertain them, 
and scrupulous whenever addressing herself to the one 
to include the other. This much she could do, and 
steadily and patiently it was done, — but where no con- 
cealment availed was in the colourless cheeks, the 
hollowed temples, — while there was a droop at the cor- 
ners of the mouth which scarce disappeared even in a 
smile. 

“You think you got along all right though?” 
Willie inquired after this first visit. “I would have 
stayed with you in a moment, you know, if you had let 
me.” 

“ It was better as it was, dear.” 

By this time it was tacitly understood between them 
that her secret trouble, which he was allowed to know 
about, but not to talk about, had reference to Ambrose, 
and though he was careful to make no direct allusion 
to this, in his anxiety he let it slip now. 

“ Your being present might have been misunder- 
stood,” continued Olivia, lifting her eyes to his with a 
sweet, steady look that permitted, nay invited his to 
look back ; “ I would not have it thought that you — 
and I — you know, Willie.” 

“ I know,” said he, simply. 

But naturally Philip Ambrose did not ; and all his 
former conviction that the Seafords were an ill-matched, 
disunited couple returned in force on seeing before him 
a wan, trembling creature, with impaired beauty, who 
so far from challenging him to reinstate the past, 
seemed scarce able to cope with the present, and yet 
was alone to face it. 

He had been wrong, surely he had been wrong in 


336 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


leaving her to the mercy of a husband she despised ? 
Surely he had been too hasty? God! how ill she 
looked ! 

For hours afterwards he could think of nothing else 
than of how ill she looked. 

And every thought made him wilder with himself 
than before. If he had only waited — waited but a 
month, but a fortnight — it was precisely a fortnight 
after his flight from the cottage that saw him parading 
Scarborough with Kitty Thatcher as his affianced bride 
— he might, he must have learnt the truth ; he could 
have wrung it out of the boy Rushington, for instance, 
— there was his opportunity. 

But since that was lost, why should he not discover 
for himself? — and with this working in his brain, he 
made the casual announcement which so discomposed 
Colonel Thatcher. 

Kitty stood to it that she had made no mistake, was 
it likely she should mistake ? Philip had not told her 
the day, but he had said he was coming, and she seemed 
rather pleased than otherwise that it should have been 
said to her and to her alone. 

“ But we must know how to prepare for him,” urged 
Lady Fanny. 

“ And he can’t expect a room to be always at his dis- 
posal,” grunted the colonel. 

“ But he will send a line the day before, or perhaps 
the same day,” replied Kitty. “ And he knows we have 
no one else coming.” 

It was on the tip of her father’s tongue to say: 

Then have some one else ; it will be a good lesson in 
manners for this free-and-easy gentleman,” — but he for- 
bore. He had promised his wife to be forbearing ; and 
the result was that although neither letter nor post- 
card gave intimation of Mr. Ambrose’s approach, when 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


337 

he did walk in late one afternoon, he was not turned 
from the door. 

“ Found I could get away,” said he, casually ; “ so 
here I am with my bag.” After a minute’s pause he 
added : “ I walked up, and left a book with Mrs. Seaford 
by the way.” Had there been any possibility of this 
last not coming to light, he would have held his tongue 
about it — but as it was, to drop it out lightly was the 
next best thing to be done. 

“ If I had known, I would have met you at the 
station,” said Kitty, clinging to him. 

To be correct, she had said this before mention was 
made of the call ; her hands loosed and she stepped 
from his side with a little cloud upon her brow at 
Olivia’s name. 

And she did not inquire how long he stayed at The 
Willow House, nor even if he found its mistress at 
home ? It was as well she did not ; it was better still 
she was not there to see. 

Olivia, who was sitting quietly by the fire with a 
book in her lap, whose pages had not been able to hold 
her attention longer, was not startled by the sound of 
the door-bell — for as luck would have it, Thomas chanced 
to be looking out, and had no choice but to admit a 
visitor, and usher him straight into the drawing-room, — 
so that it was the name of the man with whom her 
thoughts were actually occupied, and his presence be- 
fore her eyes, which awakened her from her reverie. 

And he was alone — the door shut behind him. 

And it must be borne in mind that there was no 
open quarrel between these two ; that no word had been 
spoken, so far as Olivia knew, which could ever have 
conveyed unpleasantness to Ambrose ; and that he was 
by this time partially and ready to be wholly convinced 
that none such had emanated from her. 


22 


338 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

They met therefore as friends ; it was impossible to 
meet otherwise. The book which he carried and which 
had formed some part of the conversation on his pre- 
vious call with Kitty, afforded an opening ; and he ten- 
dered it respectfully, while she could not but receive it 
graciously. 

Albeit surprised by his appearance, this was no time 
to show surprise; and it was perhaps well for Olivia 
that she had had no time to analyse her emotions be- 
forehand, for now she was able, even better than before, 
to command her voice and manner, and if there were a 
shade more reserve in the former and dignity in the 
latter than on the previous occasion, these did not en- 
lighten, — nor, he would have said, deceive her com- 
panion. He sat down prepared for a long stay, — a 
long, delightful, fruitful interview. 

All conditions were favourable to this. The quiet 
house, the quiet hour, the secrecy he had preserved as 
to his own movements, the knowledge he had of her 
habits — even the day he had chosen, a Thursday, Mr. 
Seaford’s late day — he had taken all into account, and 
now to reap the reward of forethought and precaution. 

“ Would you ring the bell for me ? ” said Olivia, 
easily reclining in her chair — his was close to the bell- 
handle, hers further off. 

He rang mechanically ; continuing a disquisition on 
a new topic which was to introduce another, and gradu- 
ally that other led back to one, — the chain had been 
mentally forged beforehand, and its last link, skilfully 
handled, would land them under the elm-tree, where it 
had been the subject of their final tete-a-tete ^ and then — 
and then ? — so absorbed was he in it all that the ringing 
of the bell might have been an automaton’s act. He 
started, however, at its results. 

“ Let me know how soon the dog-cart will be ready, 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


339 


Thomas. And tell James to bring it round for me. I 
am so sorry to seem rude, Mr. Ambrose,” continued 
Olivia, in her most courteous accents, “ but I am going 
to meet my husband directly” — (Ambrose had been 
there about a quarter of an hour) — “ and I have to go 
round by the village first.” 

“ Mr. Seaford — but is not this Thursday ? ” He bit 
his lip, but the words were out and there was no recall- 
ing them. “ Excuse me, but you see I know your ways 
so well,” he murmured. 

She understood ; her eyes flashed ; but she restrained 
herself. 

“Willie is no longer late on Thursdays. He is not 
late on any day now. I am sure you will kindly excuse 
me?” — and she looked at her watch. 

“ Are you lit to drive in an open dog-cart ? ” tried 
Ambrose, next. The check was so unexpected, yet 
seemed in a manner to be so involuntarily administered, 
that he rose from his seat bewildered and confused. 
“The air is very raw to-day, and you don’t look 
strong.” 

Because she had been sitting in the house when she 
ought to have been out of doors, Olivia averred ; she had 
been leading such an out-of-door life of late ; and as for 
open carriages, she and her husband lived in them in 
Paris. Paris was not warm in November, not warmer 
than the south of England — and she ran on garrulously 
— even following him to the door to send a message to 
Kitty, and thank him again for so kindly bringing the 
book — and he was at the gate and on his way to The 
Grange, ere it occurred to him that he had literally been 
turned out of the house. 

But presently he smiled knowingly to himself. She 
was at her old tricks, trying to take him in, making use 
of this dummy husband of hers, in order to tantalise and 

* 


22 


340 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

stimulate his ardour. He would be upsides with her. 
He would force her hand. 

Accordingly it was “ Here I am again, Mrs. Sea- 
ford” — and three days later Philip Ambrose with a 
feint of raillery in his accents, but something else writ 
upon his brow, was ushered into Olivia’s drawing-room. 

I want to have a talk with you, may I ? ” said he, 
plainly. “You will not dismiss me to-day? I have 
come on purpose to see you. I have something to say 
to you.” 

He was trying to hold her hand, but it was haughtily 
withdrawn. A calm reply was necessary, however. 

“ I am at your disposal, Mr. Ambrose. Some diffi- 
culties about your writings ? ” 

“Not that ; the difficulty is of another nature, can 
you not guess it? Yet I should have thought, I felt 
sure that you — what do you think of this marriage of 
mine ? ” — he flung himself into a chair and fixed his eyes 
upon her face. She could not escape him now. 

“This — this marriage — of yours?” repeated Olivia. 
If her voice was faint, at least her bearing was high. 
No air could have expressed more withering amazement. 

“Aye, this marriage. Purely it astonished you? 
Surely you feel ” 

“/ feel? Pardon me, Mr. Ambrose, do I hear you 
aright? You wish to discuss your marriage with meP 
Extraordinary! ” 

“But why extraordinary?” He drew his chair 
eagerly nearer. “We are friends, and can talk as 
friends. We need not be bound by ordinary trammels, 
let us throw them aside. I ask you, as one whose 
opinion I value more than words can express, as one 
who may speak and will be listened to with the utmost 
respect and — and more, — what do you think of my 
marriage ? ” 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


341 


“ And I decline to think anything. It is a most — a 
most improper question to put to me. I — I can scarcely 
believe you are in earnest.” 

“ But I am most deeply in earnest. Look at me, do 
you not see — can you not see?” 

“ I only see that you are acting in the strangest 
manner, and — ” she checked herself and made an effort 
to avert the thunder in the air, “ putting me in a very 
awkward position. You have given way to impulse, I 
suppose — and to an impulse you will yourself be the 
first to repent of. Some little misunderstanding be- 
tween you and Kitty ” 

“ No, Mrs. Seaford ; no.” He waved his hand im- 
patiently. “ No, you do not put me off with that 
pretence of miscomprehension. There is no misunder- 
standing. There is no quarrel. It is simply that I am 
in a strait. And oh, you do know, you must know, what 
I mean. And though you are reluctant to own it, I 
will not be content without your owning it. You have 
experienced, you are experiencing, the sufferings I fore- 
see for myself. Your marriage is what mine will be.” 

White to the lips, Olivia rose to her feet and recoiled 
with a shudder he could almost see. 

“ You say this to me ? ” 

He started, and his eyes opened — then a laugh fol- 
lowed. 

“ Come, Mrs. Seaford, why so melodramatic ? It is 
patent to all the world that yours was a maviage de con- 
venance — and though I have no doubt it has turned out 
excellently — nay, it is for that very reason that I look 
to you to reassure me. One can get along all right, 
can one, without any of that communion of soul poets 
rave about ? You do — you jog along comfortably enough, 
and look elsewhere for sympathy in your higher feelings 
and aspirations ? Is it not so ? ” 


342 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“ You — you say this to me ? ” repeated she. But 
her heart was full to bursting. Had she not once said 
it to herself? 

“ Because it is true,” pursued Ambrose, undauntedly, 
“ and truth will out. Your husband is a good fellow ; 
kind and generous and easy-going; and you have an 
affection for him, no doubt — as I should have for Kitty, 
substituting other attributes. She would be a good little 
Haus-frau ; a cheerful, domestic little lady to preside 
over my family concerns, — but both you and I ” 

“ — Disassociate our names, if you please.” 

Her back was straight as a dart, her eyes sparkled, 
but still the infatuated man, obsessed by one idea, pur- 
sued it. 

“ Pray hear me ; pray compose yourself. I am con- 
scious of being too bald, too crude — but I cannot mince 
matters, and I am only giving utterance now to what I 
have felt from the very beginning of our acquaintance. 
You are not mated as you ought to be ; and though you 
are resigned to it, you know in your heart — I say, you 
know that you are too good for your husband.” 

“Too good — for him?” In a hoarse, stammering 
whisper the syllables dropped almost inaudibly from 
her lips. 

Afterwards she felt as if those should have been a 
fiery torrent, scorching, scalding, devastating — but at 
the moment no torrent would come. In this frightful 
nightmare her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth, 
and she heard her voice as it were a long, long way off. 

And the worst was, oh, far the worst was that she 
had brought it on herself. In the early days of their 
intimacy she had permitted Ambrose to see what he 
should never have seen, and what now she would have 
given worlds to declare had never existed. The folly, 
the madness, the wickedness of it ! And now it was 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 


343 


past ; now she saw the one she held most dear, beloved 
beyond expression, honoured above every other human 
being, in his true light — and now she could not dare to lie 
and say she had always seen him so. Her quivering 
lips were sealed, but she could look her burning indigna- 
tion. 

“I see,” said Ambrose softly, and he tried to take 
her hand, but she threw off his touch, and before the 
eyes of both there rose that other day when 

“ But she is only fearful, a woman’s timidity,” re- 
flected he. “Dear Mrs. Seaford,” he recommenced 
aloud. 

“Stop!” cried Olivia. Voice had come at last. 
“You have spoken to me as you should never have 
spoken — you have thought what you should never have 
thought, — but I — I have no right to blame you, or at 
least your offence is infinitely less than my own,” cried 
she, passionately. “ There was a time when I was blind 
— blinded by self-love — but oh, that I should ever have 
put it in your power to taunt me thus I And you would 
make my shame and folly an excuse for — you would 
deliberately take false vows upon yourself because you 
fancy that I once did the same ? I never did. I — yes, 
I will tell the truth — I was a vain, arrogant, ignorant 
girl when I married, and when I took my husband for 
my husband I gave him all I had to give of my affection ; 
it was so centred on my despicable self that he had ” 

“ — But a very small supply,” sneered Ambrose, as 
she paused for breath, and leaned against the mantel- 
piece. He began to lose his temper and could not 
resist the taunt. 

Olivia threw him a look of contempt. 

“ And you thought to trade on that now I But you 
are too late : I have learned — my lesson. My heart is 
now my husband’s fully, absolutely. If you cannot 


344 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

give yours to her to whom you have promised it — if you 
are deceiving her now ” 

“ You think I may as well not marry the girl ? ” He 
eyed her insolently. 

“ I pray God you may never marry her. I pray God 
to keep her from such misery. Marriage with you as 
you look upon it would be no marriage, it would be a 
martyrdom.” 

“You are complimentary, Mrs. Seaford, but you have 
had experience.” 

She whirled round. “ Do not dare say that again, 
sir ; do not dare to compare the past incompleteness of 
my wedded life, which at its worst could be called by 
no other name, with the false, cruel, shameful union 
upon which you propose wilfully to embark. You came 
here to insult me ” 

“No, that I deny,” interposed he, hastily. “It is 
you who have chosen to be insulted. You have never 
allowed me clearly to express my views. I was too 
plain-spoken, and women cannot stand plain-speaking. 
If I had clothed my meaning in ambiguous phrases ” 

“ Nothing could have made me endure it. I should 
have read it, and loathed it through all.” 

“Yet once you allowed me to hope that we were 
dear friends.” Ambrose possessed a marvellous power 
of modulating his naturally harsh, incisive accents to 
tenderness, and Olivia in her pride and passion stood 
before him so inexpressibly beautiful, so terribly, tortur- 
ingly alluring that he was moved to put it forth as a 
last hope. His eyes narrowed as he watched its effect. 
Its effect was such that he rose to go. 

But still he could not go. He was not wont to be 
beaten. He hesitated. 

“ Are we to be friends no more ? ” 


ONE NOVEMBER AFTERNOON 345 

“No more. Never more.” She did not tremble 
now ; her voice rang out clear and steady as a bell. 

“ Good-bye ; ” he held out his hand. She swept him 
a curtsey so low that ere her bent head raised itself 
again, the door had closed — banged. 

She listened. Not a sound. She looked. A figure 
was hurrying through the gloom outside. 

One moment she pressed her hand upon her burn- 
ing brow and then — she went straight to her husband’s 
room and told him all. 

But that night Olivia was taken very ill. 


CHAPTER XV. 


CONCLUSION. 

The collapse which many of her friends had fore- 
boded and which all her husband’s care had been unable 
to avert had come at last, and the evening which saw 
Olivia carried to her room and laid upon her bed was 
the last she was to spend downstairs for months to 
come. 

But we do not purpose to enter into that period. 
Suffice it to say that it passed, that anxiety gave place to 
hope, next hope to joyful conviction, and, finally, that 
one bright February morning, when the sun was strong, 
and snowdrops and crocuses were bursting into bloom 
on every side, there issued from the garden door of The 
Willow House a once familiar form on which from 
hidden quarters many eyes were bent. 

“ Our dearest Olivia took her first stroll outside to- 
day,” wrote Lady Fanny Thatcher of the important 
event ; “ a very short one, of course, for it must be step 
by step that she regains her strength, but her improve- 
ment if slow is steady, and there is no reason now to 
apprehend any relapse. I was over at The Willow 
House this afternoon, and it was delightful to see poor 
Willie’s face. He has had a long, sad watch, and there 
were days, as you know, on which we almost feared to 
question him ; but, thank God, his unceasing tender- 
ness and patience have their reward at last, and this 
346 


CONCLUSION 


347 


blessed change in his dear wife, which is such a joy to 
us all, is but the outward symbol of a still more wond- 
rous one within. Olivia is a new creature. It is not for 
us to pry into the source, humanly speaking, of her 
regeneration, but none can fail to see that she has been 
led by some mysterious path, and it may be through 
much anguish of soul, to her Master’s feet. She is 
deeply humble, as befits one who was so recently 
awakened to a knowledge of herself. Olivia will never 
fall into the common error of the over-talkative on such 
high matters, but her life will show. Oh, my Kitty ” — 
for it was to Kitty that her mother thus wrote with a 
flowing pen and a full heart — “I could scarce refrain 
from weeping this afternoon when I saw that sweet face, 
transformed as it now is by the radiance of perfect peace 
within. But you will see for yourself when you return 
home; and it will be a double pleasure to have my 
darling Kitty among us again now that, instead of 
dreading the influence of this friend of hers over my 
little girl’s susceptible nature, I shall be only too 
thankful to see it exerted and I trust responded to. 
When, dear, do you think of turning your steps home- 
ward ? ” 

So Kitty is not at home at this period, though Lady 
Fanny still writes of The Grange by that name? And 
she writes moreover as though Kitty had been some 
time abroad and were far afield. 

So Kitty is, thanks to her Uncle Robert of all people 
— Uncle Robert who is now a full-blown peer of the 
realm, having come into his inheritance in the interval 
— and thanks also to something else which has hap- 
pened, not of much national importance, but of possible 
interest to our readers all the same. We will let Uncle 
Robert give his account of this other event. 

“ She couldn’t stick him, that’s the fact. It was a 


348 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

monstrous silly business at the outset ; and what my 
sister and her doddering old husband — John’s a bit of 
an ass, always was — were about to give in to it, I can’t 
imagine. My niece is as pretty a little creature as you 
would wish to see, and to let her throw herself away on 
a fellow twenty years older than herself, with nothing 
to recommend him but a sort of reputation for piecing 
together mummies and skeletons — he’d a mummy face 
himself, some one told me — and Kitty never had any 
turn that way, none of our girls have — was rank idiocy. 
She had seen nobody, never been taken out into society, 
and met the don at a seaside watering-place ! At any 
rate, the engagement came off there. Fanny made the 
best of it, poor soul. However, when it came to the 
scratch, Kitty showed her blood ; so when I found it 
was off, I wired ‘ Send her to me,’ and we brought her 
straight off along with our party to Egypt. Thought 
she could see mummies here, if she wanted ’em, without 
being hooked in for matrimony.” He paused to chuckle, 
and presently beamed with a knowing look. “ When 
Miss Kitty returns home in the spring, she’ll think twice 
before she runs her head into a noose again.” 

Nor, although the above did not altogether state the 
case in its true bearings, were there found any to 
dispute it, since it was decided by the “ Doddering” old 
colonel (how furious he would have been) — and his ever- 
prudent counsellor, that as little as might be should 
transpire respecting the rupture between Ambrose and 
his betrothed, which was the result of his fateful inter- 
view with Olivia Seaford. 

“ If there’s one thing worse than doing a thing in a 
hurry it’s undoing it in a hurry,” quoth the colonel, 
sententiously. “ Kitty’s made a mess of it both ways, 
and we shall have to bear the brunt.” 

But this was before Uncle Robert’s telegram ap- 


CONCLUSION 


349 


peared, and, short as it was, Colonel Thatcher pro- 
claimed that he read between the lines. 

“This is a pat on the back for her, eh, wife? He 
can’t be civil enough to write to us ; we are still in his 
black books, I suppose ? — but Kitty is to be forgiven, 
and restored to favour, though it is she who did the 
whole job. Humph ! ” 

“ She suffered for it, poor child ; and you know, John, 
it is much more important that she should be looked 
kindly on by her uncle, than that we should be cleared 
of blame. Nothing you or I can say would ever alter 
Robert’s opinion, or convince him that we were not 
culpably weak in yielding to Kitty’s wishes, (having no 
daughters of his own, he does not realise the difficulties 
of parents who have), — and now he is really kind and 
generous in providing for her this change of scene and 
thought just when she needs both so badly.” 

“ But what if she comes back with a black man ? ” 

He was appeased ; he could joke about it ; and 
Kitty, a little alarmed and only half-disposed to be 
grateful, was despatched to Grosvenor Square. 

Three months afterwards she was raving about the 
wonders of the desert — the marvellous desert — should 
she ever be able to make up her mind to quit the desert ? 

“ However did we get such a little flibbertigibbet of 
a daughter? ” ejaculated the colonel, “ but ” — his brow 
puckered, I’m thankful she’s not in India at any rate.” 

Lady Fanny’s letter, of which an extract has been 
given, was not, it may be feared, of such vital import- 
ance to Kitty as its writer imagined — but as we possibly 
care more about the tranquil scene it depicted, than the 
more exciting and easily-imagined ones which were of 
prior consequence in the latter’s eyes, we will return to 
The Willow House, where Olivia, who is now on the 
high road to recovery, is awaiting a visitor. 


350 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

That visitor is Lady Fanny — we had almost said 
“Of course,”— but this would have been unjust to the 
neighbourhood, which, considering Mrs. Seaford’s former 
attitude towards it, demeaned itself very creditably at 
this juncture — every house sending delegates charged 
with inquiries and sympathy, and later on congratu- 
lations — and it was an agreeable surprise to those 
who rang the door-bell at this latter period to be 
told Mrs. Seaford would be glad to see them in the 
drawing-room. 

“ I am not always glad, you know,” she smiled to 
Willie, afterwards, “ but I thought I had better make a 
start in the reform code you drew up for me. So in they 
came to-day, a whole bevy. Some were left out in the 
carriage at first — but I sent for them, and had up tea, 
and really it was quite pleasant, at least to me — and — I 
think, I think j Willie,” she added, modestly, “ that they 
enjoyed themselves too.” 

This had happened more than once, but it was the 
friend for whose coming Olivia always looked out with 
eager anticipation, who was expected on the present 
occasion, and Olivia had moreover a special reason 
for a special eagerness as she sprang up from her sofa. 
She had been promised that she should hear what till 
now it had been deemed unwise for her to hear; and 
long before Willie would sanction her doing so, had 
confessed to him that she ardently desired to question 
Kitty’s mother about Ambrose, and to hear the whole 
story of this broken engagement. 

“ If you’re afraid they will think it strange your 
not doing so,” said he, “ they won’t a bit. They know 
that exciting topics are to be avoided.” 

“ But, Willie, dear, it wouldn’t excite me in the least. 
I only feel a little — curious.” 

“ Only a little curious ? ” He eyed her dubiously. 


CONCLUSION 


351 


“ Well, then, not a little, but a very great deal,” re- 
torted she, boldly. “ I do assure you, Willie, I have not 
another feeling now that I know Kitty is happy again. 
If I had had to think of her as fretting after him or even 
as fretting because of him, it would have been different. 
But now I truly only want to know the story of it all 
because — oh, Willie, you know. And you are just as 
inquisitive as I. Yes, you are — so if you are good, sir, 
you shall have it retailed to you.” 

“ ril be mighty good for that, Olivia.” 

“ Then you will look in at The Grange as you pass 
this morning, and say to Lady Fanny that I am quite 
well enough for a good talk. She will understand. And 
ask if she can come to-morrow, and bring her answer 
to-night ? And Willie ? ” 

“ Any more commands ? ” 

“ You will make it quite plain what I want, won’t 
you? Because without your leave I know she won’t 
speak.” 

“ How do you know that ? ” 

“ Because I’ve — I’ve tried her,” said Olivia, laughing. 


“Yes, your husband said — that is, I gathered from 
what he said that the restrictions imposed on us all 
hitherto might now be withdrawn,” said Lady Fanny, 
settling herself with the solemnity due to the occasion, 
— but all in a moment — “my dear Olivia,” she cried, 
throwing studied phraseology to the winds, “I have 
been simply dying to tell you all.” 

“ And I,” said Olivia, in a lower, but yet a firm voice, 
“am just as anxious to hear all.” 

“He came back from you that night,” proceeded 
Lady Fanny, “it was hardly night, but it was, let me 
see” — pausing and casting about in her mind, “after 
seven o’clock.” 


352 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“After seven? He left me before six.” It came 
back upon the speaker that she had heard the clock 
chime six as she passed through the hall on her way to 
seek her husband shortly after Ambrose left. The 
same thought struck both. He had purposely lingered 
on the road, the short mile between the two houses — 
he had traversed it back and forwards, killing time, 
battling with himself. 

“ You may imagine we were surprised to see him 
walk in,” proceeded Lady Fanny, taking up her thread, 
“ not having been given any intimation of his approach, 
beyond a vague word to Kitty which might or might 
not have meant anything. We heard his voice in the 
hall, and she flew out — but when they came in together, 
I could see in a minute something was wrong. She 
tried, poor child, to look pleased and propitiatory — but 
his face wore a most disagreeable expression, and he 
would hardly vouchsafe me a word. I was the only 
other person present, for my husband was in his room 
dressing for dinner. I had to go and tell him Mr. Am- 
brose was there. My dear Olivia, you can imagine how 
uncomfortable it all was ; for directly we re-assembled it 
was felt there was a strain, a something in the air — 
and though we could not divine what it was, it infected 
the whole party. Nothing Kitty could say was right. 
Philip — Mr. Ambrose — snapped her up, chid her before 
our very faces. I could see her father was writhing 
with indignation, and expected every moment that 
he would be unable to suppress it. But he'behaved 
wonderfully ; he told me afterwards that he was liter- 
ally afraid to speak. He is quick, you know; and 
there was something so unpleasant, so ill-bred and 
lacking in all dignity and self-restraint about Mr. 
Ambrose, that I myself could scarce sit calmly in my 
chair. Still, we little thought how the evening was to 


CONCLUSION 


353 

end. My dear, am I tiring you? Shall I cut this 
short ? ” 

“Oh, no, no; ” Olivia would not have had it cut 
short for worlds. 

“The hours dragged,” proceeded Lady Fanny, 
resuming her narrative with unction, “and still though 
Philip (as we had to call him then) had ostensibly come 
to see Kitty, he made no attempt to render himself 
agreeable to her, nor even to speak to her. I suggested 
that as he had only come for the one night — he had 
said so at dinner — that the two should retire to the little 
room at the back, John’s den, where I had given orders 
the fire should be kept up, thinking they would like this. 
But at first neither seemed to care about it ; Kitty, I 
fancied, took her cue from Philip ; had he been willing, 
she would have been willing, — as it was she sat down by 
me on the sofa. Then all at once, in the very midst of 
something I was saying, he sprang up, and approached 
us. I could not think what was coming, and as for poor 
Kitty, she looked terrified. I could feel her shrink when 
he seized her by the arm, and, muttering something 
about not putting off any longer, hurried her from the 
room. Her father and I were left staring at each other, — 
had we suspected the meaning of it all we should, of 
course, have felt differently, for however unparalleled his 
extraordinary behaviour was, it had at least the merit 
of having a distinct aim — whereas it seemed to us much 
as if he were trying to pick a quarrel with Kitty for the 
sheer pleasure of bullying her. Well, my dear, there 
we sat giving vent to our indignation to each other, and 
lamenting most heartily that Philip Ambrose had ever 
crossed our path, when we heard Kitty come out and 
go upstairs. We waited, thinking that perhaps she had 
only gone to fetch something, — but as she did not return, 

I urged John to go and confront Philip — which at last 

23 


354 the enlightenment OF OLIVIA 

he did. It seemed hours before he reappeared, and his 
face — his voice ! He was trying to conceal his satisfac- 
tion beneath a frigid mask, and Philip, who stood in the 
doorway, also wore an air of satisfaction more openly 
displayed. He interrupted John who had begun to 
speak, and passed him, coming on to me. 

“ ‘ Colonel Thatcher will explain,’ he said ; ‘ I am 
returning to Oxford to-night, and have only time to catch 
the last train.’ Then he went on to add something 
about my always having been kind to him, and regretting 
to give me pain. 

“ Pain ? If he had only known ! However we 
shook hands mechanically, and John saw him out. 
Luckily there was a moon, and no doubt he got all right 
to the station, and caught his train — or at least, if he 
did not, we never heard of it, for, my dear Olivia,” wound 
up her ladyship dramatically, we have never seen nor 
heard of Philip Ambrose from that day to this ! ” 

“ What reason did he give ? ” Olivia had listened 
intently, losing not a syllable, and seeing in her mind’s 
eye the whole little pitiful tragedy enacted ; and now 
after a pause she spoke. 

“ None. Or I should say none that ought not to 
have been thought of before. The engagement, he 
declared, had been a mistake, and Kitty felt it a mistake, 
as he did. He had ordered her to feel this, I suppose — 
and she, hypnotised as she was by him, said whatever 
she was made to say. But though she was often a little 
hurt at his demeanour, and latterly a little — a little 
jealous of you, Olivia ” 

“Ah!” For all her resolution Olivia could not 
repress a start. 

“ Believe me, Kitty never reproached you,” whispered 
Lady Fanny, pressing her hand, “ but she felt, she did 
feel sometimes, that unconsciously you exercised a 


CONCLUSION 


355 


fascination for her lover, and that it made him over- 
bearing and inconsiderate towards her. Dear Olivia, I 
should not have mentioned this, but that I think without 
words we understand each other, and you will not mind 
— you need not mind — my saying that I expect we owe 
to you this fortunate release from an entanglement 
which, had it led to its natural sequence, would have 
made us all miserable. Philip could not shake off the 
impression you made on him, and his repugnance — but 
no more. Kitty, as I said, was jealous, but she never 
foresaw herself thrown aside ; and though she behaved 
as well as could have been expected from one so young, 
and so utterly taken at unawares, she allowed to us — 
to her father and me — that Philip had behaved most 
cruelly towards her, literally forcing a renunciation 
from her lips and then feigning to accept it.” 

“ Coward ! ” flashed Olivia. 

“ Precisely. Just what my husband said. Philip Am- 
brose is a coward, though it is a strange word to connect 
with a man of his arbitrary, overbearing temperament. 
There are many kinds of cowards,” reflected Lady Fanny, 
“ and what obviously weighed with Philip was an acute 
dread of the world’s censure. He preferred — indeed he 
insisted upon it, and perhaps it was best, that it should 
be given out that the engagement was broken off by 
mutual consent.” 

“ Perhaps it was best, you know, Lady Fanny, and he 
may have considered Kitty’s dignity. Besides, if he no 
longer desired to marry her ” 

“She certainly did not wish to marry him. That 
was true, therefore we could say it with clear con- 
sciences, — and if it saved Mr. Ambrose from opprob- 
rium— well, let it.” 

“ And Kitty ? ” 

“ It was a shock to her ; it could not fail to be. And 

23 * 


356 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

yet I think — I fancy there was almost immediate relief. 
She had grown to be afraid of him ; and though when he 
was present she could think and care only for what he 
wished, in his absence she would droop, and I am 
convinced had many secret misgivings. Often she looked 
dejected and depressed. It was a fret to her that we 
could not bring ourselves to like him. There was no 
sense of harmony in the house ; there was estrange- 
ment ; there was one subject none of us cared to touch, — 
you know what that feeling is, Olivia.’^ 

Olivia bent her head ; she knew. 

“ What a mercy it was it went no farther,” resumed 
Lady Fanny, with renewed spirit. “ Kitty now writes 
in the best of spirits. She is having a delightful time, 
and with a pleasant, congenial family party. Some- 
times I cannot help suspecting — only it seems so very 

soon ” she paused, but Olivia was sitting up, alert 

in a moment. 

“jWhat? Too soon? Oh, not at all too soon — 
oh, dear no,” she cried, with dancing eyes. “ Not at 
all, dear Lady Fanny, at her age. And — and Kitty 
must always have some one, you know.” 

“So it seems. But really I know nothing, and 

perhaps I ought not even to guess ” and again the 

speaker hesitated on the verge of a confidence. 

“Then we won’t guess, we’ll only not be able to 
help guessing,” cried Olivia, merrily. “ But do say 
what ? ” and she looked for more. 

“ It is only that my brother Robert writes — and it 
is a great affair to him to write a letter — it could 
only have been dictated by — but you shall hear. He 
writes that we must not be surprised if some one of 
whom he warmly approves should also be approved of 
by a certain young lady under his care. It is a pretty 
broad hint — and though I do not agree in all things 


CONCLUSION 


357 

with my brother, I do feel that we can put confidence 
in his judgment on a matter of this kind.” 

“ Kitty has said nothing herself? ” 

“Nothing definite. But her epistles are ecstatic — 
in the old vein — and, and really that is all.” 

It was enough for Olivia, who felt as though she had 
drunk a fresh elixir. 

Kitty no longer blighted and miserable through her 
fault ! Kitty having “ A delightful time ” in a foreign 
land, and writing ecstatically “ In the old vein ” ! It 
was comfort, — untold, unspeakable comfort. She await- 
ed every post from Egypt with little less anticipation 
than the parents themselves, and when the great news 
came, which was not long in coming, she was the first 
to hear of it, and that within the hour. . . . 

And then at last the youthful traveller returned, and 
shortly afterwards there appeared at The Grange a 
nice, honest-faced lad — who was older than he looked 
and was quite old enough, affirmed Uncle Robert — 
and Olivia, to whom Freddy Upperton was presented 
the following day, found him quite at home with every 
one already, and basking in an atmosphere of benignity 
which it was delightful to witness. 

“ Got the right sort of chap this time,” muttered the 
colonel in her ear. 

And Olivia stayed and stayed, and could scarcely 
tear herself away. Her heart swelled with thanks- 
giving ; it all seemed too good, far too good to be true. 

“ But bless me, will she never get back her looks? ” 
Colonel Thatcher came back from escorting out the 
once brilliant creature he had admired against his will. 
“ Is Olivia always to be like this?” queried he, almost 
angrily, of his wife. 

Lady Fanny could not say; no one could say; no 
one could predict with any certainty in the matter. 


358 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

Olivia had undergone a terrible illness, and whether its 
effect, which was but too visible in her altered appear- 
ance, would be permanent or not remained to be seen. 

“ It’s a sad pity — a sad pity,” muttered he. Things 
were going on so well with him and his that he could 
not bear to think every one else, every one at least 
whom he cared about and esteemed, was not equally 
uplifted. For the moment indeed he was quite over- 
come, wondering what Seaford thought. Seaford had 
always been so extravagantly proud of his wife’s beauty. 
“ It’s deuced hard on him,” concluded the colonel. 

“ I doubt if he even sees it,” replied Lady Fanny. 

“Sees it? He can’t help seeing it? Sees it? Is 
he blind? Don’t talk nonsense,” growled he. “She 
was one of a thousand to look at. See her come into a 
room — Jove, it made every other person in it look 
small. Oh, I’m not saying. I’m not saying for an 
instant that I don’t prefer Mrs. Seaford as she is — cheer- 
ful, sociable, the very life and soul of the party as she 
was to-day — but I can’t help it, I do wish she had kept 
her looks too. And what’s more, I am sorry for Willie’s 
sake.” 

“ And I assure you, my dear, that your mind may be 
at rest on that score. If Willie Seaford perceives any 
loss of beauty in his wife, it but endears her to him the 
more. I verily believe were she a leper he would feel 
the same.” 

“ That’s because he is what he is ” — the colonel re- 
flected, and gave in his verdict : “You are right, I dare- 
say. He is as fine a fellow as ever lived — for a plain 
City man. There are, of course, traditions and instincts 
— but upon my soul, I believe Willie does just as well 
without ’em. And he is polished up a bit, too,” he 
summed up in conclusion. 

One day Olivia, diving to the bottom of a long-un- 


CONCLUSION 


359 

opened drawer of her writing-table started back as if she 
had seen a snake. 

It was only a book bound in white vellum with a 
gilt clasp which met her eye, but The Peculiar Book 
had once been such a cherished possession and had 
ministered so copiously to its owner’s self-esteem, that 
she could not look upon it now without emotion. She 
suspected, more than suspected, in what light its pages 
would appear. She winced beneath what memory re- 
called. 

Read, however, she would — read, and be ashamed. 
And the end of all was that those passages which had 
pleased her best pained her most — but the pain was 
salutary, and at the close of an hour nothing remained, 
not even ashes, for the fire was large and hot which 
burnt up the sheets of Olivia Seaford’s great book which 
was to make such a name for her in the world. 

Olivia laughed, a little bitterly perhaps, when all 
was over — but she made a good story out of it to Willie 
afterwards, and insisted on his seeing the whole in the 
light of a joke, which at first he was ill enough inclined 
to do. 

‘‘ You tore your book to pieces? ” cried he, petrified. 
“ And you took such pains about it, and it is quite a 
wreck ! ” 

“ Oh, Willie ! ” 

“ It isn’t that — you don’t suppose I mind about 
that — tear up a hundred books if you like ; it is your 
writing that I mind about, it was sure to be good ” 

“ No, dear, it was not good ; and Willie, it would 
have grieved and shamed you. Come, we won’t be 
solemn over it. I took myself so very seriously once 
that this poor old self is going to have a bad time of it 
now. It had a shock to-day, and is all the better for it. 
What will be the next, I wonder.” 


360 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

In the autumn the Seafords went to Strona- 
falloch, despite Willie’s protestations that the accom- 
modation there was hardly fit for a woman and a 
semi-invalid. 

Olivia would go nowhere else, pleading that though 
she had the misfortune to be the former, she was no 
longer the latter, or would not be after a sojourn on a 
Highland moor. 

“You promised I should hear the waterfalls and see 
the eagles, Willie.’’ 

But she could see that he had still something on his 
mind. 

“Of course we are not going to be selfish,’’ said 
she. “ You must invite those poor men who are fancy- 
ing they are to be left out in the cold now. We must 
have them for at least part of the time.” 

“I shouldn’t think of it,” he shook his head. “I 
was only wondering if it could be managed to get them 
something in the neighbourhood ? Perhaps you would 
not care even for that ? ” 

“ And is it still to be only what I care for? Is your 
poor Olivia to have no chance of paying off, in ever so 
small a way, that dreadful old balance against her ? 
Isn’t she to be allowed to make the very least little 
self-sacrifice?” — and we can guess the rest. 

Of course the men came, and one and all voted 
Mrs. Seaford charming, and wondered no longer at the 
boring reminiscences which had provoked their yawns in 
other days. 

And when occasionally they saw husband and wife 
wander forth together to track a mountain burn to its 
source, or lose themselves in a deep sunlit corrie, no- 
body followed, but carefully took other paths. “ They 
are so awfully in love with each other,” nodded they 
aside. 


CONCLUSION 


361 


The pure mountain air proved the very breath of life 
to Olivia, and despite the solitude of the hut, and divers 
inconveniences attendant thereon, she persuaded her 
husband to remain there for the blue skies and frosty 
nights of October — so that by the time they returned 
south, health and strength were completely restored — 
but still — but still Colonel Thatcher shook his head and 
pursed his lip. 

“We shall see,” prognosticated Lady Fanny, mys- 
teriously. 

And there came a day, an April day, when there 
was a vast stir and commotion in The Willow House. 

Servants bustled hither and thither, grooms rattled 
out of the stables, the master’s face was seen looking 
from every window, and the mistress alone was invisible. 

A doctor’s carriage, with horses in a foam, dashed to 
the door, and a great London authority was hailed 
within. 

Thence ensued a hush, a pause of suspense, but 
when the long, light, summer night gave way to break- 
ing dawn, there came a sound from the upper rooms, 
the like of which had never before been heard within 
their walls — the cry of a newborn babe. . . . 

To say that the lean, brown-faced old colonel was 
the first to stand upon the doorstep and hear the tidings 
is almost, if not absolutely, needless, — he was up and 
away and back to breakfast, and scarce coherent as he 
scurried in. “ She’s all right, and it’s a boy.” 

“ A boy ? Willie will be glad.” 

“ Glad ? He’d have been glad if it had been a 
monkey. I saw him. He heard my voice and called 
down to me. I told him I couldn’t stop a second, you 
were so anxious. Couldn’t have been more so if it had 
been your own grandchild. And I think, I believe I 
heard him say, ‘ God bless her,’ or something of the 
24 


362 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 


kind. That settles it — that clinches it. He and his 
wife — but I say, I shouldn’t wonder if, after this, she 
gets back her looks, eh ? What do you think ? ” 

“ I should not be in the least surprised,” said Lady 
Fanny, demurely. 

And here the story of Olivia ends, in so far as it is 
of any interest to those who have followed her gradual 
evolution from an erring, faulty woman into a noble 
being, admired and beloved by all about her. 

Her husband, ever willing to follow where she led, 
was readyto give religion more place in his thoughts than 
it had formerly held, although he would never pain Olivia 
by telling her what was the truth — namely, that he had 
only been withheld from doing so then by her indiffer- 
ence. They were one in this, as in all else now, so that 
was enough. 

He grew a little stouter under the influence of so 
much happiness and such pure content — but then he 
could not always be thinking of Jack Malcolm, and 
Olivia had an excellent cook, who would place tempta- 
tion in her master’s way. 

“You must counteract it by exercise. Come out 
with me,” Olivia would say, and take no denial. 

One day she was out and he came to her. “ There’s 
something in this paper that will interest you,” he 
said, looking with a little hesitation at a newspaper 
he held. 

“ Can’t read it now, Willie ; ” her hands were grimy 
with garden-mould. “ Tell me what it is about,” — and 
she paused to listen. 

“ It is about — Ambrose.” 

“ What about him ? ” There was a slight, involun- 
tary start, but it passed as it came, and she repeated 
steadily, “ What about him ? ” 


CONCLUSION 


363 


“ A whole lot. He has got a splendid appointment 
in America — (America at last, you see, in parenthesis) — 
and this is an American paper with a terrific laudation 
of his merits. It makes him out a most illustrious 
personage. Well, I suppose he is : such a string of 
honours and distinctions ! And this post appears to be 
one of the plums of the profession, and they say he is 
the man for it. It appears that he is the biggest swell 
going in his own line.” 

“ He is. And it is quite right it should be acknow- 
ledged. He deserves success and recognition.” 

“ There’s a personal bit that is rather — they are so 
beastly outspoken over there,” continued Willie. “ It 
would be disgusting for an English paper, but I suppose 
the Yankees think nothing of it. Stop, I’ll read the bit,” 
and he unfolded the paper and read : — 

“ ‘ Though the all-conquering young professor has 
not yet succumbed to feminine attractions, it remains 
to be seen how long he will hold out against these in 
the new country to which he is coming. American 
girls have “A way wid them,” we all know — and Mr. 
Ambrose may not be able to tell us presently what he 
did to-day, that he is a determined celibate.’ So he is 
still a celibate,” added Willie, folding up the paper — 
but he did not tell his wife, as he would once have done, 
that it was for her sake Ambrose was so. 

She was quietly returning to her rake. 

“ He has gone out of our lives.” Willie was thought- 
fully lighting his cigar, and after a few puifs, he con- 
tinued : “And we needn’t grudge him his good fortune, 
more especially as it takes him right away from here. 
You were never quite easy with Oxford so near; and 
I did run across him once, though I held my tongue 
about it.” 

“ You did, Willie ?” 

* 


24 


364 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLIVIA 

“ He was getting out of a train as I got in. He gave 
me a glare and shot past. I should have spoken to 
him if he had spoken to me.” 

“You would speak to a sweep.” Olivia stopped 
and laughed. 

After a minute, she rested on her rake and turned 
round. “ I don’t grudge Mr. Ambrose his prosperity, 
Willie ; I don’t grudge him success, and fame, and 
the plaudits of the world, — but I should have grudged 
him your hand. He is a base-hearted, selfish, tyran- 
nical man, though ” — she drew a long breath and 
added slowly — “ he did me once a very great service.” 


/ 


END. 


THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS LIMITED 



A Selected List of Fiction 

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Each volume illustrated. 


A Gentleman of France. 
■w The House of the Wolf. 
Under the Red Robe. 

My Lady Rotha. 


. WEYMAN. 

Crown 8 vo, $ 1 . 2 ^. 

The Man Black, $1.00. 

From the Memoirs of a 
Minister of France. 

The Story of Francis Cludde. 


Each volume illustrated. Crown 8 vo, ;$i.50. 

Shrewsbury. Count Hannibal. 

The Red Cockade. In Kings’ Byways. 

The Castle Inn. The Abbess of Vlayk. 

Sophia. Starvecrow Farm. 


BY H. RIDER HAGGARD. 

Each volume illustrated. Crown 8 vo, $ 1 . 2 ^. 

Nada The Lily. Cleopatra. 
Eric Brighteyes. Beatrice. 
Joan Haste. Dawn. 

The Wizard. She. 

Montezuma’s Daughter. 


Heart of the World. 
The World’s Desire. 
The Witch’s Head. 
Allan Quatermain. 

The People of the Mist. 


Colonel Quaritch, V. C. King Solomon’s Mines. 

Mr. Meeson’s Will. Jess. 

Elissa; or, the Doom of Zimbabwe. 


Swallow, with 12 full-page Illustrations, ^1.50. 
Doctor Therne. Crown 8vo, ^i.oo. 

Lysbeth. a Tale of the Dutch. Illustrated, 51.50. 
The Pearl Maiden. Illustrated, 51.50. 

Stella Fregelius. 51.50. 

The Spirit of Bambatse. Illustrated, 51.50. 


By Edna Lyall. 

Each volume, 51.50. 

Wayfaring Men. In Spite of All. 

Hope the Hermit. The Hinderers. 

Doreen. The Story of a Singer. 

By Mrs. Walford. 

Crown 8 vo, buckram cloth, each 51.50. 

The Matchmaker. The Intruders. 

Iva Kildare. A Matrimonial Problem. The Archdeacon.^ 
Leddy Marget. One of Ourselves. 

Sir Patrick: The Puddock. Charlotte. 

The Stay at Homes. The Black Familiars. 


By R. Bagot. 

Donna Diana. Crown 8vo, ;? 5 i. 5 o. 

Love’s Proxy. Crown 8vo, ^1.50. 

By H. C. Bailey. 

My Lady of Orange. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, $ 1 . 2 $. 

Karl of Erbach. Crown 8vo, ^1.50. 

The Master of Gray. Crown 8vo, ^1.50. 

By Phyllis Bottome. 

Life the Interpreter. Crown 8vo, $1.50. 

By A. T. Quiller-Couch (“ Q ”). 

Shakespeare’s Christmas. Crown 8vo, ^$1.50. 

By Hiss L. Dougall. 

Beggars All. Crown 8vo, j^i.oo. 

What Necessity Knows. Crown 8vo, iJi.oo. 

By n. E. Francis. 

Crown 8vo, each ^1.50. 

Yeoman Fleetwood, Fiander’s Widow, Pastorals of Dorset 
The Manor Farm. Christian Thal. Lychgate Hall. 
Wild Wheat. A Dorset Romance. 

By Lady Mabel Howard. 

The Undoing of John Brewster. Crown 8vo, 5 i> 50 . 

The Failure of Success. Crown 8vo, ^1.50. 

By Andrew Lang. 

The Disentanglers. lUustrated. Crown 8 vo, $1.50. 

By W. E. Norris. 

Barham of Beltana. Crown 8vo, $1.50. 

By Rev. P. A. 5heehan. 

Luke Delmege. Crown 8vo, J^i.50. 

Lost Angel of a Ruined Paradise. Net, .00. 

Glenanaar. a Novel of Irish Life. ; 55 i. 50 . 

By rirs. Alfred Sidgwick. 

Cynthia’s Way. Crown 8vo, $1.50. 

The Thousand Eugenias. Crown 8vo, $1.50. 

The Beryl Stones. Crown 8 vo, 1.50. 

By S. Levett-Yeats. 

The Chevalier D’AuRiAa Crown 8vo, #1.25. 

The Heart of Denise. With Frontispiece, ili.25. 

The Lord Protector. With Frontispiece, ^x.50. 

Orrain. Crown 8vo, jji.50. 


STARVECHOW FARM 

A NOVEL 

By STANLEY J. WEYMAN 

AUTHOR OF “A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE,” “ UNDER THE RED ROBE,” ETC. 


Crown 8vo. With 8 Illustrations. $1.50 


“ . . . It is an exciting tale, with further thrilling. episodes. Mr. Weyman 
has used his narrative gift to good purpose in this book, and has also shown 
all his old skill in the delineation, if not in the creation, of character. 
Though no single figure in ‘ Starvecrow Farm ’ has the weight of fascina- 
tion of many a figure in the author’s stories of old French life, all the 
actors in the present volume are vividly set forth. Henrietta is an en- 
gaging young woman ; Gypsy Bess, her rival, is delightfully picturesque, 
and not in a long time have we met so likable a scold as Mrs. Gilson, who 
presides over the inn chosen for most of the scenes.”— New York 
Tribune. 

“ It is the best thing he has written in some time, and it will gain him 
new admirers while holding the old. It begins with an elopement, there’s 
kidnapping in it, and the interest is never allowed to fiag. All in all, 
it’s a rattling good story.”— Leader, Cleveland, Ohio. 

‘‘Mr. Weyman introduces just enough history into his romance to meet 
the approval of a host of readers. He never fails to attach the reader’s 
interest at the beginning by plunging him into the midst of a tangle of 
human interest, nor does he fail to keep the tangle sufficiently involved to 
hold that interest to the last page. . . .’’—Living Church. 

“ . . . The story is as exciting as anything that Weyman has ever written, 
but there is nothing overdrawn in it, unless it be the firmness and obstinacy 
of the young girl. The many characters in the book are well drawn, and 
one of the best is the kind-hearted landlady with the sharp tongue, who is 
the best defender of the friendless girl. Incidentally the reader gets a 
good picture of the time, with its popular ignorance, its superstition and 
its extreme bigotry.”— Chronicle, San Francisco. 

“ . . . Readers who enjoy a plot with many windings, and one that con- 
tains, in a pronounced degree, the elements of surprise, suspense and peril, 
will have ample entertainment ’’—Argonaut, San Francisco. 

“ . . . Rural England, a few years after the battle of Waterloo, provides 
the background for this thrilling narrative of a girl who eloped with one 
man only to marry later the other man from whom she ran away. But 
between the two episodes occurred many exciting events. An admirably 
told and dramatic tale.”— Record-Herald, Chicago. 


LONGMANS, GREEN & CO., 91-93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 


THE ABBESS OF VLAYE 

A ROMANCE 
By STANLEY J. WEYMAN 

AUTHOR OF “ A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE,” “ UNDER THE RED ROBE,” 
“COUNT HANNIBAL,” ETC., ETC. 


With a Frontispiece, Crown 8vo. $1.50 


“This is an interesting and, at times, highly dramatic book. It is 
superior, even, to ‘Under the Red Robe’ and ‘A Gentleman of France,’ 
which are reckoned the two most striking of his novels. A marked and 
skilful feature of ‘ The Abbess of Vlaye ’ is that it rises constantly towards 
a climax; indeed, the last part of the book is notably stronger than the 
earlier part. . . . One of the charms of Mr. Weyman’s writing, empha- 
sized in this, his latest book, is its comprehension of detail in a few sen- 
tences. . . — Evening Post, New York. 

. Mr. Weyman demonstrates once more that not only can this 
kind of romantic novel be made conspicuously fascinating, but he estab- 
lishes himself anew as easily the foremost writer of this Idnd of fiction. 
He has imagination and in unusual degree the art of investing a period 
with atmosphere. This gallant tale has color, movement and spirit, and 
is well told, with deft touches and dramatic situations, adroitly i tn- 
aged.” — Times, Brooklyn. 

“ . . . The scene in the next to the last chapter, in which the abbess 
and her captain sit at table together, considering their plans, is developed 
by the author with all his art, and we count it among his most brilliant 
achievements. ‘The Abbess of Vlaye’ is a first-rate piece of romantic 
narrative. Its heroine is a type true to history, true to human nature, 
and, in a sinister way, altogether fascinating.” — Tribune, New York. 

“. . . As in other romances based on French history, Mr. Weyman 
displays a thorough understanding of the time, the place and the people 
of which he writes. ‘The Abbess of Vlaye,’ indeed, is worth more as a 
picture of the time than simply as a romantic story. Either phase, how- 
ever, offers much of absorbing interest even to the most jaded reader of 
historical fiction.” — Transcript, Boston. 

“. . . the most interesting that he has written for several years. . . .” 
— Republican, Springfield, Mass. 

“ . . . There is the charm of the unusual love story and abundance of 
exciting adventures, all wrought into a dramatic unity. The author is 
entirely at home, and makes us at home, in the story of the period. Since 
*A Gentleman of France’ he has given us no ^tter example of his 
taXtnV^—Congregationalist. 


LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK • 


IN KINGS* BYWAYS 

By STANLEY J. WEYMAN 

AUTHOR or A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE,” “ COUNT HANNIBAL,” ETC., ETC. 

With a Frontispiece by George Varian. Crown 8vo, cloth, 

ornamentai, $1.50 


“Capital short stories of France, written in Mr. Weyman’s well-known 
vein.” — Outlook, New York. 

. The tales and episodes are all so good that it is hardly fair to 
Mr. Weyman to say some are better than others.” — Times, Boston. 

“ . . . About this author’s stories there is a dash, and a nerve, and a 
swing, and a * go ’ that no other surpasses though he has many imitators. . . . 
The opening story, ‘ Flore,’ is marvelously intense in plot, and its execution, 
with a play of action and incident and thrilling situation that is incessant. Every 
Story in the book, for that matter, is a masterpiece.” — Commercial, Buffalo. 

•• The twelve stories . . . are full of that romantic charm which he has 

communicated to his more elaborate works of historical fiction. . . . His 
historical portraits are never overdone, they are always sketched with equal 
restraint and precision. The book is abundantly entertaining.” 

— New York Tribune. 

“ Stanley Weyman was the leader in the general revival of the historical and 
romantic novel, and he is still one of the best writers in this field. ... ‘ In 

Kings’ Byways’ are stories of different periods, but Mr. Weyman is always at 
his best when dealing with Henry of Navarre or the generation just before. In 
his hands Old France lives again, picturesque and absorbing. All these stories 
. . . are finished, artistic and gracefully told. The novelette ‘ For the 

Cause’ is probably the most powerful thing Mr. Weyman has ever written.” 

—New York World. 

. Mr. Weyman’s latest book, * In Kings’ Byways,’ is inevitably of 
the class that entertains. And that it does entertain is sufficient justification ior 
its writing.”— Transcript, Boston. 

“It is unnecessary to say that these tales are worth the reading. They re- 
late with a quality that cannot be denied the highest praise, tales of love and 
war and court and highway. Not one of them is dull, not one to be passed over 
as not worthy of attention. All are dramatic, all good in form, and if one must 
be selected from out the rest as best, ‘The House on the Wall’ is chosen.” 

-Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky. 


LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 


STELLA FREGELIUS 

A Tale of Two Destinies ’ 

By H. RIDER HAGGARD 

AUTHOR OF “king SOLOMON'S MINES,” “SHE,” ETC. 

Crown 8vo, $1.50 

“ . . . while Stella Fregelius is a wide departure in style it is one of 
the most interesting books Mr. Haggard has ever given us . . . the 

struggles of the young inventor to perfect the aerophone are only incidental to a 
story of remarkable psychological force. Queer it may be called in a sense, 
but certainly this is one of the most absorbing narratives that Mr. Haggard has 
ever written. . . .'—Chronicle-Telegraph, Pittsburgh. 

“ . . . The story is full of the charm of expression that made Haggard 

so popular. It is full of human interest throughout. There is nothing dull 
&bout the story, and the whole world of literature will read it with interest and 
be entertained by it. ” — The Worcester Spy. •« 

«... It is, in fact, radically different in scheme and treatment from 
Mr. Haggard’s previous stories, but for all that it bears the stamp of his genius 
and will prove fascinating to all readers. It is called a ‘ tale of three destinies,* 
and is at once mystical, philosophical, and full of ‘ human interest. There are 
touches of humor, also, and altogether the story is worthy of Mr. Haggard.” 

—Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester. 

“ . . . The story is of absorbing interest. Like most of this author's 

novels the style is brilliant, easy, and clear. The narrative will of necessity be 
followed with breathless interest from beginning to end. The plot is well con- 
structed, Mr. Haggard controls the evolution of the story with the true art that 
leaves an impression of absolute naturalness." — New York American. 

«... To give even the complete outlines of his new story . . . 

would require many columns for the simple catalogue of the varied experiences 
of the splendidly portrayed characters. The story is of absorbing interest. 
Like most of this author’s novels, the style is easy, brilliant, and clear.” 

— Mail, Halifax, N. S., Can. 

« The main idea of this new story by one of the most daring inventors of the 
modern tale of adventure is a novel one, the enlistment of the services of science 
in the search for a knowledge of the hereafter, the employment of an instrument 
for the transmission of one of the earthly senses in the opening up of communi- 
cation with the spirit world . . . the invention which serves him in these 

pages is that of a wireless telephone, which is to call back the departed across 
the chasm. . . . Mr. Haggard has written a story that is much of a nov- 

elty from him, and, truth to tell, it is far more interesting than would be another 
tale of Jerusalem or South African wonders from his pen.” 

— Mail and Express, New York. 

LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 

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